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^f^-xt* 


y::^ 


WHO   IS  GUILTY 


WHO  IS  GUILTY 


BY      • 

PHILIP  WOOLF,  M.D. 


CASSELL  &  COMPANY,  Limited 
739  &  741  Broadway,  New  York 


Copyright, 
1886, 
By  O.  M.  DUNHAM. 


Press  of  W.  L.   Mershon  Si  Co., 
Rahway,  N  .  J. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE. 
THE   STORM 9 

CHAPTER   n. 

THE   DISCOVERY, 21 

CHAPTER    HI. 
A   WARNING, 37 

CHAPTER    IV. 
A   BEGINNING, 4I 

CHAPTER   V. 

ON   THE  TRAIL 50 

CHAPTER   VI. 

AN   EXPLORING    EXPEDITION 66 

CHAPTER   VH. 

WISDOM   AND   BEAUTY, 78 

CHAPTER   Vni. 

WEAVING   HEMP, 86 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    IX. 

PAGE. 

A   LEGAL  OPINION, lOO 

CHAPTER    X. 

A   NEW   ARRIVAL Il8 

CHAPTER   XI. 

A   LECTURE   AND   A   SURPRISE,        ....      I34 

CHAPTER   XII. 

MISS   CHURCHILL   ON   THE    TRAIL,  .  .  .      I48 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

CUNNING   MATCHES  CUNNING,        ....      162 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

MISS   CHURCHILL   RECEIVES   A  WARNING,      .  .      \^\ 

CHAPTER   XV. 

A   VISIT   AND   A   DISAPPEARANCE,  .  .  .      I95 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

LIGHT   AND   DARKNESS, 207 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

DISCOVERED  AT    LAST 230 


WHO    IS    GUILTY? 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE    STORM. 


LESBIA  VILLA,  where  the  mutilated  body- 
was  found,  is  in  Cypressville,  and  Cypress- 
ville  is  a  fashionable  summer  retreat  within  a  few 
miles  of  a  great  city. 

It  was  a  pleasant  morning  in  early  autumn  ;  a 
gray,  gusty  morning  with  filmy  clouds  speeding 
across  the  gloomy  sky.  The  distant  hills  and  the 
ocean  were  enveloped  in  a  trail  of  mist  which,  in 
the  hollows  of  the  woods,  was  changed  to  a  thick 
fog.  The  invigorating,  blustering  wind,  blowing 
inward  from  the  ocean,  was  plowing  furrows 
through  the  mist,  tearing  it  into  shreds,  and  tossing 
it  in  the  air  as  invisible  vapor.  The  trees  quivered 
in  wild  ecstasy,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  their 
leaves  were  changing  color,  and  that  each  wind- 
puff  whirled  about  their  dead  companions  in  a 
wild,  Macabre  dance.  A  pleasant  morning  ;  not- 
withstanding its  threats  of  rain  and  its  premature 


10  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

chilliness,  especially  pleasant  to  two  persons  who 
stood  on  the  lawn  before  the  large  and  quaint 
Queen  Anne  house,  known  throughout  Cypressville 
as  "  Woodbine  Cottage  ".  It  was  in  the  days 
before  lawn-tennis  had  become  a  fashion,  and  the 
man  and  the  woman  were  concealing  their  deeper 
feelings  under  the  mask  of  the  useful  but  unex- 
citing croquet. 

The  woman  was  young  and  pretty,  with  unusually 
bright  eyes,  and  with  a  certain  wildness  in  her 
gayety  suggesting  an  intensely  nervous  disposition. 
She  was,  seemingly,  indifferent  to  the  game,  or  she 
had  not  full  control  of  her  arms,  for  she  struck  her 
ball  recklessly  and  always  sent  it  wide  of  the 
mark. 

The  man  was  tall  and  strongly  built.  His  eyes 
were  blue  with  a  mild,  amiable  light  in  them.  An 
elaborate  blonde  mustache  and  side  whiskers  orna- 
mented his  face,  and  his  manners  and  actions  sug- 
gested those  of  a  soldier.  He  was,  in  fact.  Captain 
Travers  of  the  British  army,  on  a  furlough  for  the 
purpose  of  restoring  the  health  that  he  had  lost  in 
India.  He  had  been  introduced  to  the  inmates  of 
the  cottage  several  weeks  before  by  his  friend 
Doctor  Dubois,  and  in  the  cottage  he  had  remained 
an  honored  guest  ever  since.  The  covert,  tender 
glances  that  he  cast  at  his  companion  indicated 
that  the  athletic  warrior  was  in  love. 

An  unusually  bad  shot  of  the  young  lady 
loosened  his  tongue. 

•*  Really,    Miss    Gower,   you   are   not  well   this 


THE  STORM.  11 

morning,"  he  said  with  great  solicitude.  "  You 
are  awfully  nervous  and  your  face  has  lost  all  its 
smiles.  I  hope  that  the  letter  you  received  a  while 
ago  didn't  contain  bad  news  !  " 

"  It  was  a  common-place  enough  letter,  Captain 
Travers,"  she  answered  with  a  forced  smile.  "  But 
I  am  not  well  this  morning,  and  I  fear  I  shall  not 
be  able  to  accompany  you  in  the  visit  to  our  friends 
as  I  intended." 

"  Then  I  won't  go  either  !  " 

"  But  you  must,"  she  said  firmly.  "  We  have 
been  accused  of  selfishly  keeping  you  and  Doctor 
Dubois  to  ourselves.  The  open-air  party  was  given 
on  your  account." 

**  It's  a  beastly  day.  Miss  Gower,  and  the  end  of 
the  season,  and  I  prefer  to  remain  here." 

"  You  must  obey  me,  sir,"  she  answered  with  a 
light  laugh  that  ended  in  a  sigh.  "  I  will  retire  to 
my  own  room  and  try  to  forget  my  headache  in 
sleep." 

"  You  do  look  awfully  pale,"  said  the  sympa- 
thetic captain.  "  Hadn't  you  better  see  the 
doctor  ? " 

She  started  and  shivered. 

"  Any  thing  but  that  !  "  she  said  wildly.  "  I 
mean,"  she  explained  with  a  forced  smile,  "  I  have 
a  horror  of  being  regarded  as  an  invalid." 

"But  if  I  must  go,  I  should  like  to  hear  the 
doctor's  opinion.  See,  he  is  coming  down  the 
steps  now  !  " 

"  And  I  refuse  his  prescription  in  advance,"  she 


1 2  tVHO  IS  G UIL TV? 

said  hastily,  throwing  down  her  mallet.  "  Good 
morning,  Captain  Travers,  and  I  hope  you  will 
have  a  very  pleasant  time." 

With  the  words  she  waved  him  a  farewell,  and 
with  a  whispered  "  God  bless  you  ",  disappeared  in 
a  direction  opposite  that  in  which  the  doctor  was 
coming. 

The  doctor  was  small  as  to  height,  hardly  touch- 
ing the  rule  at  five  feet  three  inches.  He  was 
forty-five  years  of  age,  but  was  prematurely  bald, 
and  the  coarse,  gray  hair  that  fringed  his  skull  was 
as  rigid  as  steel  wire.  His  cheeks  were  closely 
shaven,  but  a  wiry,  gray  mustache  curved  upward 
under  his  eagle  nose  and  overshadowed  a  large 
mouth  ornamented  with  the  whitest  and  strongest  of 
teeth.  Shaggy,  coarse  eyebrows  projected  over  a 
pair  of  bright,  penetrating  gray  eyes,  and  marked 
the  base  of  a  high,  narrow  forehead.  It  was  a 
ruddy,  smiling,  intelligent  face,  indented  with  the 
furrows  of  thought,  and  winning  the  admiration  it 
deserved.  For  Doctor  Dubois  was  a  world-famous 
man,  an  honored  member  of  all  the  important 
scientific  societies  foreign  and  native,  with  a  multi- 
tude of  distinguished  friends,  hosts  of  grateful 
patients  ;  vain,  tender-hearted  ;  a  great  admirer  of 
women,  and  fully  appreciating  his  own  talents.  He 
was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  formal  black,  and  his  one 
eccentricity  was  revealed  in  a  narrow,  blood-red 
necktie  that  encircled  his  neck. 

He  approached  the  captain,  watch  in  hand.  "  It's 
ten  o'clock,  Travers,  and  time  to  be  off." 


THE  STORM.  13 

"  Miss  Gower  has  refused  to  come  !  " 

"  That  is  no  excuse  for  you  !  Mr.  Morris  has 
refused  to  come  ;  that  is  no  excuse  for  me.  You 
are  going  and  I  am  going,"  he  said  authoritatively, 
"  and  we  intend  to  smoke  a  cigar  on  the  way. 
Light  up  and  cheer  up." 

"  She  has  changed  awfully  of  late,"  sighed  the  dis- 
consolate captain.  "  I  once  thought  I  had  a  chance, 
but  I'm  afraid  I  must  give  it  up.  The  bloom  has 
faded  from  her  cheeks,  and  all  her  energy  has 
changed  into  nervousness." 

"  I  will  listen  to  you  as  we  walk,  Travers. 
We  must  not  lose  time.    Come  !  " 

They  walked  over  the  sloping  lawn,  and  emerged 
into  a  quiet  little  lane  overarched  by  trees. 

"  What  was  her  excuse  for  not  coming  ?  "  asked 
the  doctor,  after  a  pause. 

"  A  headache." 

"  Morris  was  more  honest.  The  truth  is,  that 
the  people  we  are  going  to  see  are  unexpectedly 
honored  with  the  visit  of  a  man  whom  Morris  and 
his  niece  dislike.  Why,  I  don't  know  or  care. 
This  man  is  a  Mr.  Hugo  Addison,  who  returned 
from  a  long  pleasure  voyage  in  his  yacht,  after  he 
and  his  yacht  were  supposed  to  have  been  swallowed 
up  in  the  waves.  This  individual  is  to  be  a  guest 
of  our  friends  ;  I  believe  he  has  even  the  intention 
of  giving  us  all  a  little  trip  in  his  yacht.  Be  this  so 
or  not,  he  is  the  real  cause  why  Morris  and  his 
niece  do  not  accompany  us,  although  I  am  ordered 
to  give  a  more  diplomatic  excuse  for  their  absence." 


14  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  But  she  is  really  ill,  doctor." 

"  She  will  recover  !  "  was  the  dry  answer. 

"  Poor  little  thing  ;  it  worries  me  awfully  !  " 

"  You  will  recover,  too  !  See  here,  Travers,  I  can 
only  spare  myself  a  few  days'  vacation.  Let  me  beg 
of  you  not  to  overwhelm  me  with  your  confidence 
until  we  return  to  the  city." 

The  captain  accepted  the  hint  and  remained 
silent  ;  but  he  thought  only  the  more.  He  walked 
onward  with  a  shadow  on  his  face  and  gloom  in 
his  heart. 

They  both  received  a  very  hearty  welcome  at 
their  journey's  end  from  the  jovial  Mr.  Tenterden 
and  his  guests,  who,  despite  the  theatening  weather, 
were  also  engaged  in  the  unstimulating  game  of 
croquet,  and  gay  words  and  gayer  laughter  defied 
clouds  and  piping  winds. 

The  women  of  the  party  had  thrown  shawls  or 
wraps  over  their  shoulders  on  emergmg  from  the 
house  ;  but  as  their  blood  became  warmed  by 
exercise  these  were  carelessly  thrown  aside  or  sen- 
timentally carried  by  happy  cavaliers. 

The  natural  joy  of  hearty  youth  was  increased 
by  the  knowledge  that  the  season  was  nearly  at 
an  end,  and  that  in  a  few  days,  the  great  dusty 
city  would  absorb  these  pilgrims  of  summer  and 
fashion,  and  the  little  village  be  surrendered  to 
dust,  desolation  and  the  vulgar  aborigines  who 
were  neither  rich  nor  fashionable. 

The  doctor  avoided  the  tempting  snares  that  were 
set  for  him,  but  the  helpless  captain  was  appropri- 


THE  STORM.  IS 

ated  by  a  vivacious  blonde  with  an  elaborate  head 
of  red  hair,  and  a  pretty  but  insipid  face.  Miss 
Selina  Carlyle  was  doubtless  very  attractive  ;  but 
she  only  wearied  the  moody  captain. 

"  I  really  didn't  expect  to  see  you,  Captain 
Travers.  Your  friends  have  kept  you  so  cruelly 
secluded  that  I  thought  I  should  never  see  you." 

"  I  came  over  here  with  the  Indian  malaria  in  my 
blood,  and  seclusion  was  what  I  needed." 

"  Yes,  but  they  might  have  amused  you  with  some 
company,"  continued  the  very  pert  young  lady, 
"  though  I  suppose,  under  the  circumstances,  they 
would  find  it  difficult  ?  " 

"  May  I  ask  why  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  really  know  ?  "  she  asked,  with 
an  affectation  of  great  surprise.  "  Forgive  me, 
then  !  your  seclusion  has  been  very  complete.  But 
I  really  fear  we  shall  not  be  able  to  enjoy  the  yacht 
voyage  after  all,  it  does  so  look  like  rain.  But  I 
suppose  you  don't  care  ?  " 

"  I  fear,  not  greatly." 

"  But  they  say  that  Mr.  Addison's  yacht  is  such  a 
great  curiosity.  He  has  been  away  a  year,  and  he 
gathered  odd  things  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  till 
I  am  told  it  is  a  perfect  little  palace.  And  how 
strange  it  was  ;  all  his  friends  really  mourned  his 
death,  supposing  the  newspaper  report  was  true,  and 
that  he  had  been  drowned,  and  none  of  us  knew 
that  he  was  in  the  land  of  the  living,  until  he  himself 
appeared  with  the  happy  news.  I  suppose  you  don't 
know  him,  Captain  Travers  ?  " 


l6  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  I  have  not  that  honor." 

"  Of  course  not.  How  absurd  to  ask  !  But  I 
know  you  will  like  him  ;  he  is  such  a  perfect  gentle- 
man !  And  so  chivalrous  !  Always  doing  some 
charity  or  delighting  his  friends  with  some  delicious 
little  surprises.      I  am  so  glad  you  have  come  !  " 

"  Miss  Gower  is  ill,  and  at  first  I  had  no  intention 
of  coming  without  her." 

"  I  didn't  know  she  was  invited! "  said  Miss  Selina, 
with  a  little  spiteful,  cattish  purr.  "  One  can  see 
that  you  are  not  curious.  But  do  tell  me  about 
India  and  tigers  !  I  perfectly  dote  on  both  !  " 

While  the  captain  was  suffering  this  martyrdom, 
the  doctor  was  quietly  walking  about,  exchanging  a 
few  pleasant  words  with  all  the  pretty  women,  and 
honoring  the  men  with  an  abrupt  nod  of  the  head. 
But  his  was  a  social,  not  gregarious  nature;  and 
where  one  or  two  would  have  amused,  a  greater 
number  of  chattering  people  only  bored  him  ;  and 
he  crept  away  to  enjoy  a  cigar  in  solitude. 

Leaving  the  lawn,  he  entered  a  quiet  little  path 
that  led  downward  to  the  gate,  where  he  was  sud- 
denly confronted  by  a  gentlemanly  man  who  had 
seemingly  been  running,  for  he  was  out  of  breath.  A 
tall  man,  with  russet-colored  side  whiskers  and 
mustache  ornamenting  a  pale,  excited  face. 

"  Pardon  me,"  he  gasped,  "  but  can  you  tell  me 
if  Miss  Gower  is  here  ? " 

"  She  is  at  her  home — Woodbine  Villa  !  " 

"  I  have  been  there  ;  but  was  told  that  she  had 
gone  out." 


THE  STORM.  17 

"  She  is  not  here  !  "  said  the  doctor,  with  a  shrug 
of  the  shoulders. 

The  man  paused  irresolutely,  then  murmured,  with 
a  frown  : 

"  It  will  be  too  late,  too  late  !  "  and,  turning  on  his 
heel,  disappeared. 

"  A  madman  ! "  said  the  doctor  quietly,  puffing 
away  the  incident  in  a  cloud  of  smoke. 

As  the  morning  wore  away,  the  expected  pleasure- 
trip  became  the  topic  of  general  conversation,  and 
its  liberal,  agreeable  owner,  of  general  commenda- 
tion. When,  in  the  afternoon,  the  women  retired  to 
prepare  for  what  promised  to  be  a  boisterous  voyage* 
a  few  of  the  more  active  men  descended  the  bluff 
leading  to  the  shore,  and  walked  out  on  the  private 
dock  to  smoke  their  cigars  and  to  watch  for  the 
expected  yacht. 

Among'the  idlers  on  the  dock  were  Doctor  Dubois 
and  the  wearied  captain,  who  would  have  faced  a 
score  of  tigers  rather  than  again  submit  himself  to 
the  society  of  the  vivacious  but  spiteful  Miss  Selina 
Carlyle,  whose  wearisome  conversation  had  made 
him  disgusted  with  the  world  in  general  and  himself 
in  particular. 

There  had  been  several  light  showers  in  the  after- 
noon, of  a  few  minutes'  duration  each,  but  now  a 
heavy  storm,  was  threatening.  The  doctor  glanced 
up  at  the  sky  and  while  holding  his  hat  on  his  head 
puffed  vigorously  at  his  cigar. 

"  A  breezy  day,  doctor  !  "  said  the  stout  man 
standing  beside  him. 


l8  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"■  Too  breezy  for  a  trip  on  the  water,  Mr.  Ascham; 
at  least  for  me.  I  shall  lie  in  the  veranda  on  the 
least  windy  side  of  the  house,  and  leave  sea-sickness 
to  my  friends." 

"  It  would  be  a  shame  to  desert  us  when  we  most 
need  you,  doctor.  But,  I  say,"  he  added,  suddenly, 
turning  to  his  friends,  "  look  yonder,  and  tell  me 
if  you  recognize  the  figure  pulling  away  so  lustily 
in  yonder  row-boat.  If  it  isn't  Tom  Merton  I'll  eat 
my  head  !  What  do  you  say,  Ascham  ?  " 

"  I  say  it  is  Tom  Merton,  and  it  looks  as  if  he 
were  pulling  away  from  some  of  his  creditors." 

"  Yes  ;  and  I  am  hanged  if  he  isn't  going  aboard 
the  sail-boat  yonder,  that  has  been  hovering  around 
here  the  entire  morning.  Look  !  it  is  sailing  down 
toward  the  city,  and  will  have  somc^of  its  sails 
ripped  in  its  hurry  to  get  along  !  Doctor,  if  a  body 
is  fished  up  and  lands  at  the  morgue,  look  in  its 
pockets,  and  if  you  discover  bad  cigars  and  lots  of 
unpaid  bills,  call  it  Tom  Merton.  But,  I  say,  isn't 
it  a  little  late  for  Hugo  ?  He  was  to  be  here  with 
his  yacht  at  one,  and  it's  nearly  four." 

"  The  threatening  weather  is  holding  him  back, 
and  Tom  Merton  is  a  fool  to  brave  it.  But  come, 
doctor,  let  us  beat  a  retreat  before  the  squall  reaches 
us." 

They  had  hardly  reached  the  veranda,  where  the 
women  had  already  gathered,  than  a  vivid  flash  of 
lightning  cut  a  flaming  zig-zag  path  through  the 
black  clouds,  and  was  almost  immediately  followed 
by  a  loud,  reverberating  peal  of  thunder.    The  entire 


THE  STORM.  1 9 

landscape  was  concealed  under  a  ghastly,  greenish 
fog,  through  which  the  forked  lightning  cut  its  way. 
The  wind  had  died  away,  but  now  suddenly  rose 
with  a  shriek  from  a  new  quarter,  bringing  with 
it  a  rain  that  poured  down  in  sheeted  masses  to  the 
earth. 

The  storm  passed  as  suddenly  as  it  had  appeared. 
A  bright  blue  sky  was  overhead,  and  a  warm  sun- 
light shone  down  on  the  soaked  earth.  There  was 
a  sudden  cry  of  '*  Max  !  "  "  Max  !  "  as  a  tall  figure, 
with  strongly-marked  and  strongly-lined  features, 
walked  up  the  gravel  pathway  and  ascended  the 
steps  leading  to  the  veranda. 

The  new-comer  was  unknown  to  Captain  Travers, 
who  was  attracted  by  the  characteristically  firm, 
handsome  face. 

"A  good  leonine  head  that,"  he  said,  turning  to 
the  young  woman  near  him,  *'  with  its  gray  mane 
and  honest  eyes.     Pray,  who  is  it  ? " 

"  That  is  Mr.  Hugo  Addison's  servant  and 
devoted  friend." 

"  You  didn't  come  up  through  the  storm.  Max, 
surely  ? " 

"  I   obeyed  orders  ;  which  were  that  the  yacht ' 
should  reach   here  by  a  certain  time.     I  have  lost 
three  hours  from  the  storm." 

"  Is  your  master  aboard  ?  " 

•"  No,  he  had  an  appointment  in  the  village.  Last 
night  he  sent  me  down  to  the  city  for  the  yacht — it 
has  just  been  scraped — he  said  he  would  meet  me 
here." 


20  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  But  we  haven't  caught  a  ghmpse  of  hhii  all 
day." 

"  He  said  he  would  come,"  repeated  the  old  man 
firmly,  "  and  come  he  will.  Please  inform  him  that 
I  am  waiting  his  orders  in  the  yacht." 

But  the  afternoon  passed  away,  and  still  the  man 
for  whom  all  waited  did  not  appear. 

"  This  is  very  strange  !  "  said  the  burly  Mr. 
Ascham,  consulting  his  watch  for  the  twentieth  time. 
"  I  think  I'll  drop  over  to  Lesbia  Villa  to  see  what 
the  matter  is.  Doctor,  would  you  like  a  little 
walk  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  object  !  " 

"  May  I  also  come  ? "  asked  Captain  Travers,  anx- 
ious to  escape  from  his  sad  thoughts. 

"  By  all  means,"  nodded  the  doctor.  "  Come,  we 
shall  have  a  pleasant  little  promenade  at  least. 
They  tell  me  that  Mr.  Addison's  house  is  delight- 
fully quaint." 


CHAPTER    II. 


THE    DISCOVERY. 


IT  was  a  large,  quaint  house  of  many  gables, 
built  on  a  terrace,  and  surrounded  by  many  acres 
of  rich  cultivated  ground.  Facing  the  street  the 
ground  was  laid  out  in  lawns  and  flower-beds  ; 
facing  the  narrow  lane  at  the  back  was  an  extensive 
orchard  and  kitchen-garden.  To  the  right,  from 
the  street,  was  a  glass  house  of  large  dimensions, 
coQtaining  not  only  tropical  plants,  but  fruit  trees 
of  full  height,  and  rare  shrubs  that  would  not  bear 
exposure  to  the  changeable  climate. 

Unfortunately,  evidences  of  neglect  were  every- 
where :  grass  was  growing  in  the  pathways  ;  the 
statues  on  the  lawn  were  overgrown  with  moss  ; 
the  basin  of  the  marble-fountain  was  filled  with 
dust  and  dead  leaves  ;  windows  were  broken  in  the 
hot-house  ;  boring-beetles  had  eaten  to  the  hearts 
of  many  trees,  and  the  canker-worms  were  busy  in 
defoliating  many  more. 

The  house  itself  defied  all  regularity  ;  numerous 
miniature  roofs  shot  in  all  directions  from  the  main 
roof  ;  angles  and  gables  were  everywhere,  with 
quaint  windows  peeping  through  the  woodbine  and 
ivy  ;  with   chimneys  in  impossible  positions  ;  with 


2  2  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

roof  edges  running  almost  to  the  ground,  when 
they  should  have  been  high  in  the  air  ;  with 
abruptly-ending  balconies,  seemingly  having  no 
supports  ;  a  veranda  that  twisted  and  contorted 
itself  like  an  ungraceful  snake  ;  possibility  defied, 
impossibility  converted  into  fact  with  the  result — a 
building  that  satisfied  the  utilitarian  and  the  artist 
at  the  same  time,  even  if  it  had  been  planned  by  an 
inspired  madman  ! 

"  He  must  have  employed  a  great  many  work- 
men to  keep  the  place  in  order,"  said  the  doctor, 
pausing  at  the  gate  to  admire  the  picturesque  scene. 

"  He  did  employ  a  great  many  before  he  went 
away.  But  he  has  been  absent  a  year  and,  as  you 
see,  the  place  has  suffered  from  a  year's  neglect." 

"  It  looks  lonely  enough  despite  its  attractions." 

"  It  will  soon  look  busy,  as  I  am  told  he  intends 
to  alter  the  house  and  improve  the  grounds.  At 
present  it  is  cheerless." 

They  pushed  open  the  rusty  iron  gate,  ascended 
the  broad  grass-grown  path,  and  finally  paused 
before  a  massive  oak  door,  the  rich  carvings  of 
which  had  gathered  additional  beauties  from  age. 

"  Old  ocean  approaches  pretty  close,"  said  the 
doctor,  gazing  downward  on  a  broad  stretch  of 
water  that,  toward  the  left,  was  only  separated 
from  the  boundary  of  the  estate  by  a  narrow  belt 
of  sand. 

"  He  has  a  poet's  love  for  the  ocean,"  answered 
Mr.  Ascham,  "  and  for  books.  The  entire  floor, 
on  both  sides  of  the  door,  he   has  devoted  to  his 


THE  DISCO  VER  Y.  23 

library ;  and  in  the  library  we  shall  find  him 
absorbed  in  some  old  book,  after  his  long  absence 
from  them,  and  perfectly  oblivious  of  the  passage 
of  time." 

Mr.  Ascham  spoke  with  a  surety  he  did  not  feel ; 
and  the  hand  that  raised  the  heavy  knocker  was 
slightly  tremulous.  The  blows  fell  slowly  and  sol- 
emnly, and  were  heard  reverberating  from  the  many 
angles  of  the  hall  within.  They  were  repeated 
again  and  again  but  they  brought  no  human 
response. 

"  None  but  the  dead  would  fail  to  hear  that  clat- 
ter," said  the  captain  impatiently. 

"  Have  a  little  patience,  Travers,"  answered  the 
doctor.  '*  And  while  waiting,  admire  the  sunset  in 
the  ocean  yonder.  I'll  wager  you  never  saw  a 
prettier  sight  in  all  your  travels  !  " 

"  It  is  beautiful,"  said  the  captain,  after  facing 
the  dazzling  west  for  a  few  moments  in  silence. 
"  By  Jove  !  you  can  see  the  twilight  conquering 
the  light." 

Mr.  Ascham  was  growing  alarmed  as  well  as  im- 
patient. 

They  left  the  veranda,  and  now  stood  in  the  path- 
way, looking  up  at  the  house. 

"  All  the  windows  are  closed,  on  this  side  at 
least,"  said  the  doctor.  "  We  have  had  our  walk 
for  nothing  !  " 

The  captain  had  left  his  companions  and  dis- 
appeared around  an  angle  of  the  house.  In  a 
moment  he  returned,  with  a  startled  face,  and  the 


24  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

words  :  "  There  is  a  window  open  on  this  side,  and, 
by  Jove  !  I  don't  like  the  appearance  of  things." 

A  narrow  flower-bed  skirted  the  side  of  the 
house,  to  which  the  captain  drew  his  companions' 
attention.  There  was  an  open  window  some  ten 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  beneath  this  window  the 
flowers  were  crushed  down  as  if  by  some  heavy 
iDody  falling  on  them. 

"  Look  there  !  "  exclaimed  the  now  thoroughly 
excited  captain,  pointing  to  a  mass  of  ivy  that  had 
been  pulled  from  the  wall.  *'  What  do  you  call  that 
stuff  on  the  bruised  leaves,  doctor  ?  " 

"  Blood  !  "  was  the  calm  answer.  "  I  am  not  a 
detective,  gentlemen  ;  but  the  hand  that  grasped 
that  ivy  was  covered  with  blood.  It  would  be 
wiser  to  summon  the  authorities  !  " 

"  Hang  the  authorities  !  "  said  the  impetuous 
captain.  "  While  we  are  waiting  for  red-tape  to 
arrive  some  poor  fellow  may  die.  At  any  rate  I 
am  going  to  run  the  risk  and  enter  the  house.  I 
won't  sneak  away,  fearing  for  the  consequences, 
when  my  friend's  friend  may  need  my  aid  !  " 

This  gallant  speech  was  gratefully  acknowledged 
by  Mr.  Ascham,  to  whose  natural  feebleness  of  age 
were  now  added  excitement  and  terror. 

"  It's  easy  to  climb  in  at  the  open  window,"  con- 
tinued the  captain,  "and  in  I'm  going." 

"  Don't  disturb  any  thing  within  or  without," 
whispered  the  cautious  doctor.  "  If  a  crime  has 
been  committed,  what  seem  trifles  to  us  will  prove 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  others.      Climb  in 


THE  DISCO  VER  V.  25 

from  the  other  side — on  the  side  opposite  the 
blood  marks,  captain." 

"  All  right,  doctor,  and  here  goes  !  " 

The  captain  was  tall  of  figure  and  strong  of 
limb,  and  the  window  was  almost  within  reach  of 
his  outstretched  hands.  He  grasped  the  ivy  with 
one  hand,  made  a  leap,  and  easily  caught  hold  of 
the  window  sill  with  the  other  hand.  In  a  moment 
he  had  pulled  himself  up  and  disappeared  from  his 
friends'  view.  In  a  brief  space  he  reappeared  at 
the  window  with  pale,  perspiring  and  horrified 
face. 

"  A  dead  body,  doctor  !  "  he  gasped.  *'  Dead 
and  covered  with  blood  !  " 

Mr.  Ascham  staggered  at  the  words  and  caught 
hold  of  a  tree  trunk  for  support.  The  doctor  was 
calm  and  undisturbed. 

"  Open  the  door,  captain,"  he  said  quietly  ; 
"  perhaps  I  may  be  of  some  use.  The  door  is  to 
your  right  as  you  are  facing  us  ;  around  the  angle." 

The  doctor,  drawing  his  trembling  friend  after 
him,  passed  around  to  the  front  of  the  house,  and 
after  much  hesitancy  from  the  inside,  the  oak  door 
was  finally  opened. 

The  sun  had  set,  and  the  interior  of  the  house 
was  dark  and  gloomy. 

"  Wait  where  you  are,  Ascham,"  said  the  doctor 
with  authority.  "  You  are  not  in  a  condition  to 
come  with  us,  and  you  will  be  of  use  afterward. 
Show  me  the  way,  captain  !  " 

"  It's  right  here,"  said  the  captain,  pointing  into 


26  WHO  IS  GUILTY ? 

the  large,  dark  room  on  the  right  side  of  the  hall. 
"  Near  the  window  !  " 

Yes  ;  near  the  window  the  body  of  a  man,  with 
its  pale,  blood-dabbled  face  turned  upward  to  the 
ceiling  ! 

The  doctor  stooped  down  beside  it,  raised  the 
stiff  head  for  a  moment,  gently  dropped  it,  and  then 
rose  to  his  feet. 

"  We  are  too  late,  captain,"  he  said  quietly. 
"  He  has  been  dead  some  six  hours,  and  died  from 
a  pistol  bullet  in  his  brain  !  " 

"  Suicide,  perhaps,"  said  the  captain,  conquering 
his  own  fear  in  the  presence  of  the  calm  doctor. 

"  Suicide  ?  Impossible  !  The  wound  is  from 
behind  and  above.  He  was  murdered,  captain, 
brutally  murdered  !  " 

"  What  is  to  be  done  ?  " 

"  We  are  trespassers,  and  must  wait  for  the  law. 
Nothing  can  be  done  until  the  law,  personified  by 
an  intellectual  coroner  or  deputy,  puts  in  its  ap- 
pearance. We  have  gone  so  far  and  must  now 
continue  to  the  end.  Escort  our  helpless  friend 
home,  and  then  as  quickly  as  possible  notify  the 
authorities.  My  punishment  shall  be  to  wait  here 
until  you  return." 

"Your  place  is  not  here,  doctor;  when  the 
wretched  news  is  told  them  at  the  house,  who  can 
say  what  may  happen  ?  Besides,  sir,"  continued 
the  captain,  with  frank  cordiality,  "  the  trouble  may 
not  be  all  over,  and  in  that  case  the  world  can 
spare  me  better  than  you — " 


THE  DISCO  VER  Y.  27 

"  I  thought " 

"  I  have  been  on  too  many  battle  fields  to  fear 
t/iat,  doctor  ;  for  the  rest,  I  can  walk  up  and  down 
here  smoking  my  cigar." 

"  Perhaps  your  way  is  best." 

"  I  know  it  is,"  he  added  firmly  ;  '*  but  relieve 
me  as  soon  as  possible." 

The  doctor  nodded,  and  supporting  the  de- 
pressed Mr.  Ascham,  who  had  not  opened  his  lips 
since  the  fatal  discovery,  disappeared  in  the  ever- 
deepening  twilight. 

Alone,  Captain  Travers  carefully  closed  the 
oak  door  between  him  and  the  silent  object  in  the 
library,  and  then  slowly  paced  up  and  down  the 
veranda,  puffing  out  clouds  of  smoke,  gazing  out- 
ward toward  the  east,  where  a  serene  full  moon  was 
rising  and  filling  earth  and  heaven  with  its  soft 
silver  light  ;  yet  the  air  was  damp  and,  in  the  cool 
night-breeze,  was  condensing  into  mist.  Beyond 
was  the  village,  with  here  and  there  a  dot  of  cheer- 
ful light  shining  through  the  trees,  which  the  ever- 
thickening  mist  was  surrounding  with  a  ghostly 
halo. 

Under  other  circumstances  it  might  have  been 
interesting  to  watch  what  promised  to  be  the  clear- 
est of  nights  resolved  into  a  blanket  of  fog,  through 
which  the  moonlight  quivered  and  was  shorn  of  its 
brightness  before  it  touched  the  earth.  The  change 
from  full  light  to  gloom  was  startling  in  its  rapidity. 
Seemingly  but  a  moment  before,  he  had  seen  the 
outlines  of  the  very  ropes  that  hung  from  the  masts 


28  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

of  the  sleeping  vessels  moved  up  and  down  in  the 
throbbing  waters.  Now  the  vessels  were  invisible 
and  the  ocean  was  undistinguishable  from  the  fog 
that  rested  on  it. 

It  was  doubtless  very  interesting,  if  other  thoughts 
would  not  obtrude  themselves — especially  the 
thought  of  a  warm,  cozy  house  that  was  awaiting 
him.  He  had  come  to  it  a  lonely  stranger  but  a 
few  weeks  ago,  yet  it  now  seemed  like  a  home  to 
him,  and  it  held  the  one  only  woman  whom  he  had 
ever  loved.  His  half-frozen  blood  warmed  as  he 
busied  himself  with  the  memory,  and  built  his  air- 
castles.  A  serious,  thoughtful,  shrinking  woman, 
who  rarely  smiled,  whose  happiness  was  suggestive 
of  tears  rather  than  laughter  ;  resolute  yet  timid  ; 
with  large,  flashing,  yet  pathetic  eyes  that  seemed 
to  claim  the  sympathy  that  the  small  lips  were  too 
timid  to  ask.  He  loved  her,  and  he  was  vain  enough 
to  believe  that  the  love  was  not  all  on  one  side  ;  yet 
he  had  not  ventured  on  open  confession,  for  even 
the  slightest  hint  as  to  his  feelings  had  stirred  her 
into  unaccountable  emotion.  It  seemed  as  if  she 
yearned  to  know  what  she  was  forbidden  to  hear  : 
as  if  fate  had  arranged  that  the  world  of  her  imagina- 
tion were  never  to  be  converted  into  the  world  of 
reality.  The  wave  of  destiny  maliciously  floated 
her  toward  the  shore  that  she  was  never  to  reach, 
raising  for  her  a  gorgeous  palace  that  was  to  be  her 
tomb  ! 

The  dead  man  and  the  living  woman  !  The  one 
was  lying  with  a  pistol-bullet  in  his  brain,  the  other 


THE  DISCO  VER  Y.  29 

was  probably  awaiting  a  living  man's  return  in  the 
drawing-room  of  a  well-known  house.  Two  days 
ago  she  was  at  the  piano,  soul  and  fingers  engaged 
in  a  Beethoven  sonata,  when  the  dead  man's  name 
was  pronounced,  with  the  news  that  he  had  returned 
from  a  long  journey.  Soul  and  fingers  ceased  from 
their  labors  ;  the  rosy  flushes  died  away  from  the 
soft,  rounded  cheeks,  and  a  pale,  haggard  face  was 
turned  from  the  music  to  the  bearer  of  the  news. 
Again,  that  very  morning,  before  the  storm,  the 
living  woman  had  refused  to  meet  the  man  that 
was  now  removed  from  the  world  and  its   troubles. 

Remembering  this — why  had  the  memory  lain 
latent  to  this  very  moment,  and  v/hy  did  it  start  so 
suddenly  into  prominence  ? — remembering  this,  how 
would  she  be  affected  when  she  heard  that  the  man 
was  dead  ?  Was  he  an  old  friend  ;  was  he  ? — 

His  reflections  and  promenade  were  both  suddenly 
interrupted  by  a  strange  sound  that  seemed  to  come 
from  the  library.  With  hushed  breath  and  cautious 
step,  he  retired  into  a  shadowy  angle  near  the 
doorway,  and  listened  with  a  certain  superstitious 
fear  pervading  the  more  dominant  belief  that  the 
murderer  had  returned  to  the  scene  of  his  crime  ; 
and  yet  with  the  stern  resolution  to  bring  him  to 
account. 

He  listened  ;  but  although  all  his  energies  were 
concentrated  in  the  act — and,  as  a  successful  hunter, 
he  had  a  practiced  ear — he  could  not  hear  the  sound 
repeated.  "  It  was  mere  fancy  !  "  he  muttered, 
"  but  for  a  moment  I  could  have  sworn  it  was  a  foot- 


so  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

step.  Bah  !  I  am  worse  than  a  fool  to  expect  that 
they  would  return  so  long  after  the  crime  was 
committed  !  " 

Instinctively  following  the  hunter's  habit  of  con- 
cealment, he  remained  within  the  shadowy  angle. 
His  thoughts  again  wandered  to  the  old  subject 
which  now  troubled  his  heart  and  aroused  his  jeal- 
ousy— the  relationship  between  the  living  woman 
and  the  dead  man. 

"  Poor  fellow  !  "  he  murmured, "  he  is  powerless 
now  ;  but  for  her  sake  and  my  sake  I  hope  she 
didn't  love  him.  It  will  ruin  both  our  lives,  for  I  will 
never  consent  to  be  a  second  lover  to  my  wife  I  " 
He  paused,  listened,  and  then  exclaimed,  in  wild 
excitement  : 

"  I  am  not  mistaken  this  time.  Somebody  is 
cautiously  walking  in  the  dead  man's  room !  " 

There  could  be  no  doubt  of  it — somebody  was 
walking  over  the  waxed  and  uncarpeted  floor  ;  the 
footsteps  were  light,  but  they  could  be  plainly 
heard. 

"  His  shoes  creak  like  patent  leather  !  "  said  the 
captain,  growing  more  resolute  as  the  danger 
seemed  lifted  out  of  the  region  of  supernaturalism. 
"  Now  he  is  stopping  ;  now  he  is  walking  again  ; 
now  he  is  opening  a  drawer  !  He  must  have  learned 
the  situation  of  things  by  heart,  for  he  is  working 
in  darkness.  I  wonder  if  I  couldn't  creep  around 
and  get  a  peep  at  him  if  he  comes  out  the  back 
way  ? " 

To  reach  the  ground  it  was  necessary  to  cross  a 


THE  DISCOVERY.  31 

broad  band  of  watery  moonlight,  and  the  captain 
wisely  hesitated. 

"  He  isn't  a  fool,  and  he  has  posted  companions 
to  warn  him  of  approaching  danger.  I  knew  it !  " 
he  exclaimed,  as  a  soft,  shrill  whistle  sounded  in 
the  distance.  "  There  are  two  of  them,  at  least ! 
Shall  I  venture  in  the  dark,  unknown  house,  or 
remain  here  ?  "  Then  he  added,  after  a  pause,  "  I 
will  take  advantage  of  the  light  first.  I'd  give  a 
good  deal  if  I  could  only  peep  around  yonder 
angle.     I'll  stalk  the  devil !  " 

He  dropped  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and,  keeping 
as  much  as  possible  within  the  shadow,  crept  slowly 
forward.  On  the  side  toward  which  he  was  going, 
the  veranda  abruptly  ended  at  an  angle  made  by 
the  projecting  wall  of  the  house,  and  it  was  fairly 
well  protected  by  a  climbing  wistaria  vine.  Reach- 
ing this  useful  screen,  the  captain  arose,  and  peeped 
through  the  leaves.  From  his  position  the  side  of 
the  house  was  outside  the  line  of  his  vision,  but 
the  narrow,  curving  pathway  was  in  full  view. 

Standing  out  in  bold  relief  was  a  human  figure, 
with  upturned,  intent  face — the  face  of  a  handsome 
man,  with  a  large,  russet-colored  mustache  and 
beard.  The  man  stood  in  earnest  expectation. 
Suddenly  he  faced  about,  bent  his  head  in  the  atti- 
tude of  Listening,  and  then  disappeared  over  the 
grass,  in  the  direction  of  the  conservatory.  A  few 
minutes  later  there  was  a  muffled  report,  like  that 
of  a  pistol  ;  but  whether  it  came  from  the  land  or 
the  water  it  was  impossible  to  judge. 


32  WHO  /S  GUILTY? 

"  A  handsome  face  and  manly  figure  for  a  mur- 
derer,"  thought  the  captain,  "  but  I  shall  know  it 
again  !  " 

He  turned  to  his  old  post  by  the  door  and  again 
listened.  For  a  few  minutes  all  was  silent  ;  then 
the  sound  of  light  footsteps  was  again  plainly 
heard. 

"  I  wonder  if  I  could  throw  myself  unawares  on 
the  other  as  he  comes  out  of  the  room.  I  have 
grappled  with  the  more  dangerous  Hindu  thief;  why 
not  with  a  native  ?  It's  a  pity  I  have  no  weapon !  " 
His  instincts  were  stronger  than  his  reason,  and 
he  cautiously  opened  the  front  door  and  crept 
into  the  black  hall-way.  He  had  made  the  same 
journey  once  before  on  that  very  evening,  and  he 
knew  that  he  had  only  to  creep  into  the  angle  on 
his  right  to  be  within  reach  of  the  doorway  leading 
into  the  library.  He  walked  forward  on  tip-toe, 
and  had  the  satisfaction  of  reaching  the  angle  made 
by  the  walls,  without  producing  any  suspicious 
sounds.  His  satisfaction  was  greater  as  he  heard 
the  sounds- of  the  footsteps  still  within  the  room. 

What  surprised  him  was  the  boldness  and  indif- 
ference of  the  intruder.  To  commit  a  crime  is  one 
thing  ;  to  visit  the  scene  of  a  crime  a  few  hours 
after  committing  it,  another.  The  wretch  must 
have  been  strongly  assured  that  his  guilt  would 
not  be  discovered,  to  venture  so  boldly  on  the 
scene  !  And  yet,  there  must  have  been  some  urgent 
necessity  to  return  ;  but  what  could  be  accomplished 
in  the  dark  ?  and  how  could  he  venture  in  the  same 


THE  DISCOVERY.  ^-i^ 

room,  with  blackness  and  his  victim  as  com- 
panions ? 

The  captain  employed  his  hands  and  his  brain 
at  the  same  time  ;  he  felt  along  the  wall  until  he 
came  to  the  opening  of  the  doorway,  across  which  he 
stretched  his  arms  as  a  bar  to  any  one  coming  out. 

It  was  a  bold  maneuver  ;  but  it  was  not  pleasant, 
even  to  a  brave  man,  to  stand  in  utter  darkness, 
with  the  expectation  that  any  minute  he  was  likely 
to  come  in  contact  with  an  armed  murderer.  Very 
unpleasant  to  imagine  that  his  oresence  was  sus- 
pected, and  that  in  the  room  beiore  him  a  pair  of 
villainous  eyes  were  glaring  in  his  direction,  and 
that  the  muzzle  of  a  pistol  was  pointed  the  same 
way.  The  atmosphere  around  him  was  chill,  moist 
and  heavy,  a  charnal  atmosphere  suggesting  decay  ; 
the  walls  were  damp,  and  unaccountable  puffs  of 
cold  wind  swept  down  on  him  from  some  invisible 
region  above.  Every  sense  was  at  its  fullest  ten- 
sion ;  his  strained  eyes  saw  whirling  figures  of 
their  own  invention,  imaginary  odors  nauseated 
him,  and  in  the  intense  silence  his  brain  invented 
sounds  for  his  ears  to  hear.  But  the  pattering  of  light 
footsteps  came  nearer  and  nearer  ;  the  cause  passed 
so  close  to  him  that  he  could  feel  its  warm  breath 
stirring  his  beard.  Evidently  pausing  to  listen. 
Now  they  sound  again,  and  he  can  hear  the  rustling 

of    garments.     Now  ! A   yielding    mass   of 

some  material  is  in  his  arms,  the  forehead  of  a  warm 
face  is  pressed  by  the  contact  against  his  own  ; 
there  is  a  light  exclamation  of  alarm  uttered  by  a 


34  ^^^O  IS  G UIL TV? 

soft  voice,  and  he  is  so  startled  by  the  difference 
of  the  reality  from  the  expectation  that  his  arms 
unconsciously  relax  and  the  soft  burden  escapes 
from  them.  Recalled  to  himself,  he  stretches  out 
his  hand  and  grasps  the  fleeting  thing.  There  is 
a  slight  struggle,  the  warm  flesh  again  escapes  him, 
and  he  finds  himself  alone  in  the  darkness  with  a 
gauzy  material  in  his  hand. 

To  follow  the  vanishing  footsteps  in  the  darkness 
which  they  thread  with  such  certainty,  is  an  im- 
possibility, and,  with  the  beaded  perspiration  on  his 
forehead,  he  returns  to  the  veranda  and  the  mist. 
What  he  has  so  strangely  grasped  is  a  woman's 
silken  scarf.  He  gazed  at  it  a  moment  with  horri- 
fied eyes,  then  wrapped  it  up  and  thrust  it  in  the 
breast-pocket  of  his  coat. 

During  his  short  absence  the  mist  had  turned  to 
fog,  completely  filling  the  hollows  and  spreading 
out  in  curious  spectral  streaks  over  the  water.  As 
far  as  he  could  gaze  he  saw  nothing  but  this 
monotonous  sea  of  mist,  which  blotted  out  the 
earth  and  dulled  the  cold,  blue  serenity  of  the 
heavens.  Horizontally  he  could  barely  distinguish 
the  outlines  of  objects  a  few  feet  away  ;  the  limit 
of  the  veranda  from  which  he  had  gazed  a  short 
time  ago  had  vanished  from  sight  ;  the  rails  of  the 
balcony  before  him  had  also  vanished,  and  for  a 
short  time,  in  his  exalted  state  of  feelings,  he  felt 
like  the  sole  survivor  of  a  shipwreck  drifting  aim- 
lessly in  a  desert  of  waters. 

"  A  nasty  business  !  "  he  murmured,  turning  his 


THE  DISCO  VER  Y.  35 

eyes  from  the  desolate  earth  to  the  cold  heavens. 
"  I  wish  I  was  out  of  it,  and  would  give  a  great 
deal  if  I  never  had  been  in  it.  Poor  devil  !  "  he 
continued,  referring  to  the  figure  that  had  escaped 
from  his  grasp.  "  Perhaps  she  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  crime,  antl  perhaps  my  testimony  will  put 
a  rope  around  her  innocent  neck.  Thank  heavens, 
I  did  not  see  her  face  !  But  she  was  dressed  in  some 
soft  material  that  no  poor  person  ever  wore  ;  her 
skin  was  soft  and  velvety,  and  by  the  faintest  sug- 
gestion of  violet  perfume  in  her  silky  hair  she  was 
no  vulgar  servant.  If  she  is  innocent,  I  hope  she 
has  received  sufficient  warning  to  vanish  into 
space  ;  if  guilty  ! " 

Captain  Travers  did  not  formulate  the  wish  even 
in  thought,  but  stared  impatiently  at  the  mist  and 
prayed  for  relief.  He  had  not  long  to  wait  now  ; 
in  a  few  minutes  he  heard  the  sound  of  carriage- 
wheels  in  the  distance,  and  soon  after  four  specks 
of  moving  light  appeared  in  the  mist,  each  light 
surrounded  by  a  curious  halo.  The  lights  ap- 
proached closer  and  closer,  and  in  a  short  time 
resolved  themselves  into  bull's-eye  lanterns,  each 
one  held  in  the  hand  of  a  policeman. 

The  guardians  of  order  ascended  the  steps  and 
came  to  rest  on  the  veranda. 

"  I  suppose  I  may  go  now  !  "  exclaimed  the  cap- 
tain eagerly. 

"  A  carriage  is  at  the  gate  and  it  will  take  you 
back,"  was  the  answer  given  by  the  leader  of  the 
relief  party. 


36                             WHO  JS  GUILTY? 
•'  Thank  you,  Mr. " 


"  Sergeant  Oakum,"  was  the  reply,  delivered 
with  great  dignity. 

The  captain  did  not  wait  to  hear  the  answer, 
but  plunged  into  the  mist  and  soon  reached  the 
carriage,  that  received  him  and  then  sped  away  in 
the  darkness.  But  quickly  as  it  sped,  the  captain's 
thoughts  traveled  faster,  adjusting  themselves  to 
the  rhythmic  rattle  of  the  wheels. 

"  How  will  she  receive  it  ?  How  will  she  receive 
it  ?     How  will  she  receive  the  news  of  his  death  ?  " 

As  the  carriage  stumbled  over  a  length  of  stony 
road  his  thoughts  drifted  into  other  subjects  ;  but 
when  it  speeded  along  the  level  ground  with  its 
old  rhythm,  his  thoughts  rushed  back  into  their  old 
channel. 

"  How    will    she    receive  it  ?      How   will  she 

RECEIVE  IT  ?  " 


CHAPTER  III. 


A    WARNING. 


CAPTAIN  TRAVERS  reached  Woodbine  Cot- 
tage at  the  moment  when  the  church-bell  was 
striking  the  hour  of  ten.  He  was  cordially  wel- 
comed by  his  amiable  host,  Mr.  Morris,  the  uncle 
of  the  gentle  Miss  Gower  ;  and  by  his  friend,  the 
doctor. 

Mr.  Morris  was  a  stout,  florid-faced  man  of  sixty, 
who  inherited  a  very  large  fortune  at  a  very  early 
age  and  who,  in  consequence,  enjoyed  life  to  the. 
full  bent  of  his  capacities.  He  was  hospitable, 
charitable  and  obstinate  ;  a  bon  vivant  and  a  self- 
lover.  He  had  sailed  quietly  through  life,  carefully 
avoiding  the  disagreeable,  and  carefully  clinging  to 
the  agreeable.  He  feared  anxiety  more  than  he 
feared  gray  hairs,  and  had  a  greater  interest  in  his 
stomach  than  in  the  fall  of  dynasties.  He  was  a 
comparative  new-comer  in*Cypressville,  wherein  he 
had  built  himself  a  most  luxurious  house,  which  was 
at  the  service  of  his  friends,  and  especially  of  the 
doctor,  for  whom  he  had  a  warm  friendship  and 
admiration.  He  had  never  married,  and,  until  he 
received  his  niece  in  his  house,  had  maintained 
an    uncompromising  bachelor's   hall,    from   which 


3S  PFHO  IS  GUILTY? 

every  species  of  womankind  had  been  sternly 
excluded. 

He  warmly  greeted  the  captain  on  his  return, 
but  Travers  was  not  in  the  mood  to  enjoy  his  live- 
liness. The  claims  of  courtesy  satisfied,  he  retired 
to  his  own  room.  He  was  tired  and  wretched,  but 
when  the  doctor  entered,  in  accordance  with  his 
custom,  to  indulge  in  a  little  friendly  chat 
before  he  went  to  bed,  his  presence  was  a  welcome 
relief. 

"  I  sent  you  lielp  as  soon  as  possible,  Travers," 
said  the  doctor,  sinking  into  an  easy  chair.  "  And  I 
have  notified  the  authorities.  The  village  is  con- 
sidered a  part  of  the  city  and  a  city  coroner  attends 
to  it.  So  we  were  compelled  to  telegraph  to  the 
city,  and  received  an  answer  that  a  coroner  and  a 
detective  would  both  be  forthcoming  early  on  the 
morrow." 

"  I  do  not  care  for  this  ;  rather  talk  to  me  about 
Miss  Gower  !  " 

The  doctor  became  grave. 

**  Are  you  in  love  with  her  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Deeply,  irrevocably,"  was  the  frank  answer, 
"  although  I  have  never  told  her  so — in  words  !  " 

"  So  much  the  better,  Travers  !  You  regard  me 
as  a  friend  ?  " 

"  You  have  saved  my  life  !  "  said  the  captain 
gratefully. 

"  Then,  Travers,  as  a  friend,  I  should  advise  you 
to  pack  your  trunk  and  vanish  into  space  !  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  gasped  the  captain. 


A    WARNING.  39 

"  I  mean  your  love  is  not  of  the  malleable  kind. 
According  to  my  belief,  it  is  only  fair-weather  love. 
Of  course  you  will  not  take  my  advice  ;  but  having 
relieved  my  conscience,  I  will  relieve  your  anxiety. 
Question  me  ? " 

"  Is  Miss  Gower  really  ill  ?  " 

**  You  shall  hear.  After  the  interrupted  game  of 
croquet  this  morning,  Miss  Gower  locked  herself 
in  her  room,  refusing  admittance  even  to  her  maid. 
From  ten  in  the  morning  to  three  in  the  afternoon 
she  was  invisible  to  human  sight.  At  the  latter 
hour  she  opened  her  door,  asked  for  a  glass  of  wine 
and  a  biscuit,  and  again  retired.  I  returned  here, 
after  leaving  you  and  telegraphing  to  the  city,  and 
found  the  household  in  confusion.  It  seems  that 
Miss  Gower  maintained  such  resolute  silence  that 
her  maid  became  anxious,  and,  with  Mr.  Morris's 
permission,  forced  her  way  into  the  room,  only  to 
find  her  mistress  lying  senseless  on  the  floor, 
dressed  and  with  bonnet  on  her  head,  as  if  she 
intended  to  take  a  walk.  Like  the  most  sensible  of 
maids,  she  undressed  her  mistress  and  lifted  her 
into  bed.  I  entered  about  this  time.  The  exact 
cause  of  the  insensibility  I  could  not  discover,  but 
I  learned  that  our  fair  friend  was  accustomed  to 
taking  bromide  of  potassium  for  her  very  frequent 
nervous  spells  ;  and  in  the  present  instance  I  knoiv 
she  was  under  the  influence  of  opium.  I  roused 
her  from  her  stupor — it  was  not  dangerous  ! — and 
waited  until  she  fell  into  a  more  natural  condition. 
She  was  too  weak  to  be  subjected  to  a  long  cross- 


40  PV//0  IS  G VIL TV? 

examination,  and  too  nervous  to  answer  my  few 
questions  with  clearness." 

"  Are  you  sure — "  began  the  excited  captain. 

"  I  am  sure  of  nothing,"  said  the  doctor,  rising. 
**  I've  given  you  my  advice,  and  answered  your 
question  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge." 

"  As  a  true  friend,  what  would  you  advise  me 
to  do  ?  " 

"  Have  I  not  already  told  you  !  Get  rid  of  your 
malaria  and  love  at  the  same  time." 

"  But—" 

The  doctor  walked  toward  the  door,  then  turned 
to  say  : 

"  The  pythoness  has  spoken  and  the  fire  is  extin- 
guished.    Good-night,  Captain  Travers  !  " 


CHAPTER  IV. 


A    BEGINNING. 


SLEEP  that  night  was  an  enemy  that  Captain 
Travers  could  not  conquer  ;  he  tossed  about 
in  his  bed,  occasionally  falling  into  a  condition  of 
momentary  unconsciousness,  only  to  return  to  the 
real  world  with  a  wildly-beating  heart,  a  perspiring 
body,  and  a  vague  but  painful  feeling  of  impending 
horror  ;  of  a  whirlpool  of  evil  that  was  to  attract  him 
within  its  dangerous  circle,  toss  him  around  as  a 
toy,  and  then  swallow  him  forever. 

It  was  a  relief  when  the  night  passed  away.  He 
rose,  dressed  himself  in  the  early  dawn,  and  pulling 
back  the  window  curtains,  inhaled  the  fresh  morn- 
ing air  in  an  ecstasy  of  delight.  With  equal  pleas- 
ure he  welcomed,  later,  Doctor  Dubois,  who  had 
passed  an  excellent  night,  and  entered  his  friend's 
room  with  a  beaming  face. 

"You  look  haggard  and  pale,  Travers;  evidently 
you  have  not  passed  a  pleasant  night  !  " 

"  A  beastly  night,  doctor.  I've  been  thinking 
over  your  words,  and  they  have  been  piercing  me 
like  burning  arrows  !  " 

"  They  were  not  spoken  lightly  !  " 


42  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  That's  what  upsets  me,  doctor.  I  have  long 
since  learned  to  honor  your  true  manhood,  severe 
love  of  truth  and  noble  principles.  Only  I  wish 
you  would  be  more  explicit." 

"  My  dear  fellow,  if  you  were  in  my  position  you 
would  appreciate  my  friendship  for  you  in  speaking 
even  as  I  have  dared  to  speak.  However,  I  have 
determined  to  put  you  in  a  way  of  thinking  for 
yourself.  I  am  to  meet  the  coroner  by  the  first 
train  this  morning  and  superintend  \he post  mortem. 
You  shall  go  along  with  me,  and  if  what  you  learn 
adds  to  your  sleepless  nights,  blame  your  own  fool- 
ishness, and  not  my  anxiety  for  your  welfare." 

"At  least  it  will  distract  me  from  my  horrible 
thoughts  ?  " 

"  You  will  find  it  more  exciting  and  less  laborious 
than  pig-sticking,  and  you  will  be  able  to  compare 
our  police  system  with  that  of  your  own  country 
and  France.  One  of  our  best  detectives  has  been 
sent  up  to  unravel  the  crime.  So  we  will  drink  a 
cup  of  coffee  and  eat  a  roll  without  disturbing  our 
host,  and  then  rush  off  to  business  before  the  vil- 
lage is  awake." 

"  Have  you  any  news  of  Miss  Gower  ? " 

"  Her  maid,  Percy,  has  kindly  prepared  a  break- 
fast for  us,  and  we  will  receive  her  report  at  our 
ease." 

They  descended  to  the  dining-room,  where  a  most 
temptmg  breakfast  awaited  them.  A  very  attract- 
ive young  woman,  dressed  in  simple  but  becoming 
attire,  greeted  the  captain  with  a  respectful  cour- 


A  BEGINiYING.  43 

tesy,  and  welcomed  the  doctor  with  a  smile  that 
showed  the  tips  of  her  small  white  teeth. 

"  You  are  the  good  genius  of  the  house  ! " 
exclaimed  the  doctor,  seating  himself  and  casting 
an  approving  glance  over  the  table.  "  I  see  you 
have  not  even  forgotten  my  chicken  croquettes. 
You  are  thoughtful,  even  though  at  the  cook's 
expense." 

"  I  did  not  wake  her,  doctor,  it  was  so  early," 
answered  the  young  woman,  in  a  soft,  musical 
voice,  and  with  a  modest  blush  in  her  cheeks.  *'  I 
made  them  myself,  and  you  must  excuse  me  if  they 
are  bad  !  " 

"  They  are  perfect  !  "  said  the  doctor  with  enthu- 
siasm, after  having  tested  them,  "  and  the  coffee  has 
an  aroma  that  would  tempt  an  angel." 

Miss  Percy  filled  the  doctor's  cup  with  the  tempt- 
ing beverage,  and  then  waited  on  the  captain. 
During  her  graceful  services,  while  not  neglecting 
the  stranger,  she  was  particularly  attentive  to  the 
doctor,  anticipating  his  wants  and  meeting  his 
hearty  commendations  with  a  grateful  yet  blushing 
face.  When  her  services  were  not  required,  she 
discreetly  withdrew  to  a  distant  part  of  the  room  ; 
yet  her  large,  soft,  black  eyes  still  rested  on  the 
doctor,  and  before  he  had  time  to  formulate  a  wish 
she  had  tripped  forward  in  anticipation  of  it. 

A  dignified,  lady-like  maid,  as  even  the  indifferent 
Captain  Travers  was  compelled  to  admit,  undoubt- 
edly born  to  a  station  above  that  which  fate  had 
thrust  on  her  ;  but  if  this  were  true,  she  raised  the 


44  ^^0  IS  GUILTY? 

humble  situation  to  her  height,  rather  than  sunk  to 
its  level.  Her  hands  were  small,  narrow  and  white, 
and  would  not  have  disgraced  the  heaven-protected 
aristocracy  of  his  own  land  ;  her  tall  figure  was 
plump  and  graceful,  and  her  small  lips  were  full 
and  of  a  delicate  color  that  would  have  shamed  a 
pink  rose.  Miss  Gower  must  have  been  strongly 
assured  of  her  own  charms  to  place  them  in  con- 
trast with  those  of  her  dainty  maid. 

The  doctor  was  too  intent  on  attacking  the  deli- 
cious food  to  waste  his  time  in  conversation,  but 
when  stomach  was  nearly  satisfied,  conscience 
returned  to  its  throne,  and  with  an  amiai^le  glance 
at  the  young  woman,  he  asked  : 

"  How  is  Miss  Gower  ?  " 

"  She  passed  a  quiet  night,  and  was  slumber- 
ing very  peacefully  when  I  left  her." 

"  There  was  no  return  of  the  nervousness  ?  " 

"  None,  sir,  since  you  left  her." 

"  I  forgot  to  ask  you  yesterday  ;  is  Miss  Gower 
in  the  habit  of  falling  insensible  to  the  ground  at 
odd  intervals  ?  " 

"  Since  I  have  been  with  her,  she  has  had  three 
or  four  attacks  like  the  one  you  saw." 

"  May  I  ask  how  long  you  have  been  with  her  ?  " 

"'About  three  months." 

"  Did  she  ever  speak  about  their  cause  ?  " 

*'  She  was  very  kind,  friendly  and  considerate  to 
me,"  answered  the  girl,  warmly,  "  and  she  trusted 
in  me  as  a  friend.  I  can  not  betray  her  confidences 
even  to  you,  sir." 


A  BEGINNING.  45 

"  I  have  no  wish  that  you  should  do  so.  At 
least  you  may  tell  me  whether  she  suspected  the 
cause  to  be  organic  disease." 

"  She  knew,  doctor,  that  she  was  not  troubled 
with  any  ailment,  but  great  nervousness.  At 
times  it  drives  her  almost  insane,  and  if  she  tries 
to  escape  from  the  horror  she  only  does  what  any 
body  would  do  under  the  circumstances.  She  is  a 
kind,  noble  and  self-respecting  lady  !  " 

"  I  suppose,  then,  there  is  no  need  of  my  seeing 
her  before  I  leave  ?  " 

"  She  sleeps  peacefully  ;  she  is  in  no  pain,  and 
nervousness  is  not  so  rare  with  woman  !  "  Her 
attractive  seriousness  ended  in  a  more  attractive 
smile. 

"  It  is  unnecessary  to  disturb  her.  If  you  have 
finished,  Travers,  we  will  light  a  cigar  and  then 
there  will  be  time  enough  to  take  a  leisurely  stroll 
over  to  the  station." 

**  I  must  change  this  sack  for  a  coat  first,"  said 
the  captain,  rising.  "  I  will  be  with  you  in  a 
minute." 

When  he  had  retired  the  doctor  glanced  sadly  at 
the  fragments  remaining  on  the  table,  as  if  regret- 
ting that  anticipation  had  been  greater  than  per- 
formance. 

"  May  I  pour  out  for  you  another  cup  of  coffee  ?  " 

The  maid  was  beside  him,  glancing  down  on 
him  with  questioning  brows. 

"  I  regret  to  say,  that  I  can  not  answer  your  ques- 
tion with  a  '  yes  '  ;  but  I  thank  you  just  the  same." 


46  WHO  IS  G UIL TV? 

The  doctor  was  fond  of  the  fair  sex,  and  was  a 
favorite  with  them  ;  and  this  continued  attention 
from  a  pretty  woman  flattered  the  vanity  which 
even  the  wisest  scientist  can  not  suMue. 

"  Shall  you  be  late  ?  Pardon  my  question,  but 
if  you  shall  be  detained  beyond  the  dinner  hour,  I 
should  be  honored  if  you  would  allow  me  to  have 
something  ready  on  your  return," 

"  I  do  not  know  at  what  hour  I  shall  be  allowed 
to  return." 

"  It  is  more  difficult,"  she  returned,  with  a  smile, 
and  little  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  "  but  I  am  ob- 
stinate, and  the  supper  shall  be  ready  whenever 
you  are  ready  for  it." 

The  return  of  Captain  Travers  recalled  the  doc- 
tor to  the  business  before  him,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes the  two  men  were  walking  briskly  through  the 
cool  morning  air. 

It  was  but  a  short  distance  to  the  little  wooden 
structure  that  was  dignified  with  the  title  of 
"  station  ",  and  it  was  reached  in  advance  of  the 
train.  To  kill  time  they  walked  up  and  down  the 
wooden  platform  that  was  showered  with  the 
pleasant  rays  of  the  rising  sun.  But  few  words 
had  been  interchanged  during  the  journey  ;  and  it 
was  not  until  the  doctor  had  lighted  his  second  cigar 
that  he  worked  himself  into  a  conversational  mood. 

"  The  croquettes  were  a  work  of  art,  Travers," 
he  said,  simply  putting  into  words  the  idea  that  had 
occupied  his  thoughts  since  breakfast.  "  It  requires 
brains,  and  education  even,  to  cook  properly." 


A  BEGINNING.  47 

"  Miss  Percy  has  undoubted  talents  in  that 
direction." 

"  If  I  were  a  little  younger,"  said  the  doctor, 
with  a  laugh,  "  I  should  imagine  that  I  had  made 
a  very  favorable  impression  on  that  young  lady's 
heart !     Since   I   have  been  here  she  has  been  as 

thoughtfully  attentive  to  me  as  if .     You  must 

supply  the  omitted  comparison,  Travers." 

"  She  is  very  attractive." 

"  And  very  good,"  said  the  doctor  gravely.  "  I 
am  wrong  even  to  jest  on  such  a  serious  subject. 
She  is  young  and  unprotected,  and  it  is  unworthy 
of  an  honest  man  to  make  light  of  her  thoughtful 
attentions.  She  is  fond  of  reading,  and  I  lent  her  a 
few  books.  She  is  fond  of  study,  and  I  showed 
her  the  way  to  gain  the  most  profit  from  her  un- 
employed time.  Her  gratitude  takes  the  form  of 
warming  my  slippers,  and  preparing  little  delicacies 
for  me.  But  I  suppose  you  are  puzzled  by  my 
seeming  indifference  to  the  poor  fellow  in  the 
deserted  house.  I  have  promised  the  coroner  my 
assistance — his  deputy  is  sick — and  when  business 
comes,  business  will  receive  all  my  attention.  While 
waiting — it  won't  be  long,  judging  from  yonder 
smoke — I  am  in  the  mood  to  forget  my  profession 
and  its  anxieties.  And,  alas  !  my  work  will  soon 
begin  again." 

A  black  spot  in  the  distance,  a  defiant  shriek  of 
escaping  steam,  a  metallic  rattle,  and  in  a  moment 
a  train  at  rest  in  the  hollow  below. 

It  disgorged  two  passengers,  and  had  sped  away 


48  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

before  they  had  reached  the  top  of  the  wooden 
stairs  that  led  to  the  station  above.  One  of  the 
new-comers  was  a  stout  man  dressed  in  rusty,  baggy 
clothes,  who  slowly  puffed  his  way  upward  ;  the 
other,  who  carried  a  small  black  case  in  his  hand, 
was  a  tall  man,  dressed  in  a  well-made  but  sober 
suit  of  gray,  and  who  leaped  rather  than  walked  up 
the  stairs.  Both  greeted  the  doctor  with  friendly 
warmth. 

"  Captain  Travers,  allow  me  to  introduce  to  you 
Coroner  Crabbe  and  Detective  Sharpe,  our  future 
collaborators  in  the  cause  of  justice  and  morality." 

The  fat  coroner  nodded  his  hea.d,  half  in  deference 
to  courtesy,  half  in  the  utilitarian  act  of  inhaling  a 
huge  pinch  of  snuff. 

The  detective  raised  his  hat  and  acknowledged 
the  introduction  with  a  pleasant  smile. 

Captain  Travers  glanced,  in  surprised  perplexity, 
at  the  detective,  whose  profession  was  not  indicated 
by  his  appearance  or  manners.  He  had  a  vague 
consciousness  of  having  seen  the  face  before,  but 
was  unable  to  recall  under  what  circumstances,  and 
finally  dismissed  the  idea  as  one  of  his  many  unre- 
liable fancies. 

It  was  a  handsome  face,  the  eyes  intelligent,  the 
mouth  sensitive,  yet  resolute,  and  the  shaven  lower 
jaw  firm  and  square.  The  hair  was  black,  and  a 
thick  black  mustache  ornamented  the  upper  lip. 
He  was  tall  in  figure,  well-made,  and  with  a  sug- 
gestion of  latent  strength  in  the  somewhat  delicate 
looking  limbs. 


A  BEGINNING.  49 

"  I  have  brought  your  instrument-case  with  me, 
doctor,  as  you  ordered." 

"  I  never  doubted  your  memory  !  Now  you  must 
do  me  another  favor  ;  I  want  you  to  take  charge  of 
my  friend.  He  is  a  benighted  foreigner,  and  I  am 
an.xious  to  convince  him  that  oicr  detectives  are 
superior  to  the  fossil  products  of  effete  monarchies." 

"  I  am  at  the  captain's  service  !  " 

They  left  the  station,  the  doctor  and  coroner 
leading,  the  other  two  walking  more  slowly  behind. 

"  May  I  be  critical  at  the  start,  Mr.  Sharpe  ?" 

"  At  the  start  and  always.  Captain  Travers." 

"Was  it,  then,  wise  to  leave  the  tragedy  so  long 
in  the  hands  of  local  incompetency  ?  Much  maybe 
done  in  a  long  night,  especially  in  way  of  escape  !  " 

"  You  are  right  in  theory,  but  wrong  in  fact.  ]\tore 
has  been  done  than  you  imagine.  The  vital  point 
just  now  is //d^/ the  murderer's  escape,  but  to  discover 
who  the  murderer  is.  But  please  inform  me  what 
you  know  of  the  case.     It  may  be  of  some  help." 

The  captain  explained  his  connection  with  the 
murder,  but  refrained  from  even  hinting  at  his  per- 
sonal experiences  in  the  old  house  ;  and  although 
the  gauzy  shawl  was  in  his  pocket,  he  made  no 
mention  of  it. 

By  the  time  his  narrative  was  ended  they  had 
reached  the  scene  of  the  tragedy,  and  the  detective 
paused  to  gaze  at  the  old  house  that  was  bathed  in 
the  morning  sunlight. 

"  A  fine  old  building  !  "  he  muttered.  "  It  looks 
as  if  it  had  concealed  many  secrets  in  its  time  !  " 


CHAPTER  V. 


ON    THE    TRAIL. 


A  PICTURESQUE  building  surely;  but  even 
in  the  glow  of  the  sun  and  with  a  warm  sky 
above  it,  sad,  chilling  and  desolate.  The  coroner, 
engaged  in  a  warm  political  discussion  with  the 
doctor,  had  already  disappeared.  The  detective 
followed  more  slowly.  As  he  pushed  open  the  gate 
and  entered  the  grounds,  a  man  emerged  from  the 
bushes,  and  raised  his  hand  to  his  hat. 

"Any  news?" 

*'  Nothing,  except  we  caught  a  man  in  the 
grounds  last  night." 

"  He  wouldn't  have  been  there  if  he  was  con- 
cerned in  the  business.  I'll  examine  him  by  and 
by.     Come,  captain  !  " 

To  his  companion's  surprise,  the  detective  seemed 
acquainted  with  the  grounds.  Without  a  moment's 
hesitation  he  passed  around  to  the  side  of  the  house, 
and  paused  beneath  the  window  through  which  the 
entrance  had  been  made  on  the  evening  before. 
After  a  thoughtful  silence,  devoted  to  a  critical 
examination  of  the  ground,  he  said  : 

"  Let  us  seek  for  facts.     I  think  I've  already  dis- 


ON  THE  TRAIL.  5 1 

covered  a  few.  Please  stoop  down  here  beside  me, 
and  see  if  I  state  them  correctly." 

The  detective  was  already  on  his  knees  before 
the  narrow  bed  in  which  flowering  plants  were 
struggling  for  existence  in  the  midst  of  a  flourish- 
ing army  of  grasses  and  weeds. 

"  Listen,  Captain  Travers  ;  I  measure  this  flower- 
bed— I  suppose  that  was  once  its  object — and  I 
find  it  to  be  just  four  feet  six  inches  broad.  On  the 
outer  edge  is  a  line  of  old-fashioned  box — I  believe 
fashion  uses  tiles  for  bordering  purposes  now.  In 
the  center  here,  is  a  hydrangea  that  was  once  a  fine 
shrub,  but  is  now  dwarfed  into  insignificance  ; 
beyond,  against  the  wall,  is  a  flourishing  colony  of 
chickweed.  The  hydrangea,  as  you  see,  is  crushed 
to  the  ground,  as  if  a  heavy  weight  had  fallen  on  it ; 
and  to  the  front  here,  to  the  extent  of  about  three 
feet,  the  box  edging  is  dragged  forward,  over  into  the 
pathway.    These  are  undoubted  facts,  are  they  not  ?" 

"  I  dare  not  controvert  them,"  said  the  captain, 
with  a  smile. 

**  Good  !  Now  look  ;  to  the  right  and  to  the  left 
of  the  hydrangea  are  comparatively  open  spaces, 
where  plants  and  weeds  have  died  for  lack  of  mois- 
ture, and  light,  probably  ;  and  in  these  spaces  are 
the  undeniable  marks  of  footprints  ;  here,  here,  and 
here  are  the  outlines  of  boot  or  shoe  heels  indented 
deeply  in  the  still  moist  earth.  Now,  if  you  please, 
we  will  go  over  some  old  ground,  with  you  in  the 
witness  stand.  When  did  you  and  the  doctor  start 
out  to  hunt  up  the  dead  man  ?  " 


5 2  WHO  IS  G UIL TY? 

The  captain  had  been  busied  with  the  problem 
all  night,  and  having  a  short  time  ago  told  the 
story,  had  no  need  to  search  for  his  facts. 

"  The  yacht  was  expected  at  one  o'clock,  and  I 
remember  the  servant  saying  that  the  storm  had 
detained  him  some  three  hours." 

*'  That  makes  it  four  o'clock.  Shortly  afterward 
you  started  off  ?  " 

**  Yes  ;  and  I  knoiu  that  we  did  not  reach  our 
journey's  end  until  after  six  o'clock." 

"  Let  us  give  our  enemies  the  advantage  by 
calling  it  six.  Now,  when  the  doctor  examined 
the  body  how  long  did  he  say  he  had  been 
dead  ? " 

**  Some  six  hours." 

"  A  more  detailed  examination  may  alter  this ; 
that  is,  make  the  time  longer  not  shorter.  But 
accepting  it  as  an  approximation,  we  are  brought  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  murder  was  committed 
about  twelve  o'clock  noon.  Now  listen ;  these 
heel  marks  in  the  dirt  were  made  after  or  during 
the  storm  ;  they  could  not  have  entered  so  deeply 
into  the  hard  dry  soil,  or  if  they  had,  the  rain  would 
have  at  least  effaced  their  sharpness.  If  you  look, 
carefully,  you  will  see  that  the  nail  heads  in  the 
heel  are  still  sharply  outlined  ;  am  I  right?" 

"  There  is  no  question  of  it !  " 

"  Therefore  these  marks  were  made  in  the  soil 
after  the  rain  had  ceased.  Preparing  for  such  an 
emergency,  I  instituted  inquiries  in  the  city  last 
night,  and   I  learn  that  it  began  to  rain  here — that 


ON  THE  TRAIL.  53 

is,  the  heavy  shower  you  described  began  at  ten 
minutes  after  four  and  ended  at  about  five  o'clock. 
Therefore  these  footsteps  were  made  some  four  or 
five  hours  after  the  murder.  Am  I  indulging  in 
dangerous  theory,  Captain  Travers  ?  " 

"  In  very  excellent  reasoning,  and  I  suppose  we 
may  conclude " 

"  Please  hear  me  to  the  end,"  interrupted  the 
detective.  "  The  flower  bed  has  something  more 
to  tell.  The  hydrangea,  as  I  have  said,  is  crushed 
down  to  earth  as  if  a  heavy  weight  had  fallen  on 
it ;  but  if  you  look  you  will  discover  that  the 
crushed-down  portions  are  covered  with  mud  ;  mud 
in  heavy  masses  ;  suggesting  very  plainly  mad-cov- 
ered shoes  as  the  cause  of  the  disaster.  I  therefore 
conclude  that  the  plant  was  also  thrust  down  in  the 
soil,  not  before,  but  after  the  rainstorm.  Now  look 
at  the  ivy  that  runs  up  the  house  near  the  window. 
\\\  one  place  it  is  torn  away  from  the  wall  as  if 
yielding  to  a  heavy  weight.  Tell  me,  what  do  you 
see  on  those  exposed  leaves  ?" 

"  Blood  !  "  said  the  captain.  "  Some  one  with  a 
bleeding  hand  has  grasped  it.  Doubtless  the  mur- 
derer himself." 

"  That  would  be  the  hasty  conclusion  of  ninety- 
nine  sensible  persons  in  a  hundred.  But  consider 
for  a  minute  ;  the  blood-stained  leaves  are  fully 
exposed  ;  the  blood  lies  thickly  on  them.  If  it  had 
been  there  at  twelve  o'clock,  don't  you  think  the 
rain  would  have  washed  it  away  ?  My  reputation 
on  it,  Captain  Travers,  that  blood  was  deliberately 


54  ^^O  JS  GUILTY? 

placed  there  after  the  storm,  and  consequently  long 
after  the  murder.  " 

"  But  with  what  object  ?  "  asked  the  puzzled  cap- 
tain. 

"  With  what  object  but  that  of  leading  justice 
astray  !  of  distracting  attention  from  the  guilty 
party  to  the  innocent  !  But  before  coming  to  a 
conclusion  on  this  point,  we  will  re-enforce  our 
argument.     How  tall  are  you  ?  " 

"  Five  feet  ten  inches." 

"  Good  !  now  come  here  toward  the  ivy  and 
stretch  out  your  hand.  You  see  it  just  overreaches 
the  blood-stained  leaves,  by  about  an  inch.  The 
bleeding  hand,  then,  you  might  say,  belonged  to  a 
man  of  about  your  own  height." 

"  It  at  least  seems  probable  !  " 

"  Let  us  accept  the  conclusion  for  a  moment, 
and  say  that  the  murderer  was  a  man  five  feet  ten 
inches  high.  Now  look  at  the  foot-prints.  Could  ' 
you  walk  in  boots  that  gave  such  a  small  impres- 
sion ?  Let  us  test  it  by  measurement.  Please  lift 
up  your  foot.  Lo  !  The  broadest  part  of  your  heel 
measures  two  and  a  quarter  inches  ;  the  broadest 
part  of  the  sole  of  your  boot  measures  three  and  a 
quarter  inches.  Now,  look  !  "  with  the  words,  the 
detective,  measure  in  hand,  was  on  his  knees  again 
before  the  flower-bed.  "  The  widest  part  of  this  heel 
impression  in  the  mud  measures  one  and  three-quar- 
ter inches  ;  the  widest  part  of  this  sole  impression 
measures  two  and  a  half  inches.  The  length  of  your 
foot  is  ten  and  a  half  inches  ;    the  length  of  the 


ON  THE  TRAIL.  55 

footmark  here  eight  and  a  half  inches.  If  these 
impressions  were  made  by  the  murderer,  he  had  a 
foot  that  would  cause  even  your  aristocracy  to 
envy  him." 

The  captain  did  not  answer,  but  he  thought  of 
his  adventure  in  the  deserted  house,  and  of  the  tell- 
tale evidence  that  still  remained  hidden  in  the 
breast  pocket  of  his  coat. 

"  We  have  still  one  further  bit  of  evidence,  Cap- 
tain Travers,  in  this  box  edging.  In  its  neglect  it 
has  grown  twelve  inches  high,  and  a  man  could 
step  over  it.  But  supposing  he  pushed  his  way 
through  it,  would  he  have  thrust  it  forward  in  an  unin- 
terrupted line  to  the  extent  of  three  feet  ?  I  leave 
you  to  your  own  conclusions  and  return  to  the  ivy 
to  see  if  there  are  the  same  footsteps  at  its  base, 
although  I  do  not  expect  to  discover  any  thing 
definite,  as  the  grass  grows  very  thickly  there." 

The  detective  carefully  studied  the  grass,  and 
then  gently  parted  its  waving  plumes  with  his  hands. 
He  suddenly  uttered  an  exclamation  of  pleasure, 
as  from  the  base  of  the  ivy,  deep  down  in  the  grass, 
he  extracted  a  handkerchief  matted  together  with 
blood. 

"  Our  murderer  is  excessively  idiotic,"  he  mut- 
tered, carefully  unfolding  the  handkerchief  and 
studying  it  with  an  amused  but  puzzled  expression  in 
his  face.  He  handed  it  to  his  companion,  with  the 
words  :  "  Look  in  the  corner,  captain,  and  tell  me 
what  you  see  ?  " 

"  The  letters  G.  D." 


5  6  IV HO  IS  G  UIL  T  Y  ? 

"  The  letters  G.  D.  and  no  mistake.  The  owner 
of  the  handkerchief,  if  not  of  the  blood,  has  for  the 
initials  of  his  name  the  letters  G.  D.,  and  if  he  com- 
mitted the  crime  his  idiocy  deserves  the  punish- 
ment it  will  get." 

"  The  end  is  nearer  than  you  imagined,  is  it 
not  ? " 

"  It  is  different  from  what  you  imagine  ;  but  this 
handkerchief  will  prove  an  excellent  clew.  We 
have  only  to  discover  its  owner,  find  out  who  is  his 
enemy,  and  the  murder  will  explain  itself.  But  it 
is  time  to  enter  the  house  now,  for  they  are  wait- 
ing for  us,  before  they  enter  on  their  side  to  befog 
testimony." 

They  ascended  the  steps,  passed  into  the  house, 
and  immediately  proceeded  to  the  library,  wherein 
they  discovered  the  coroner  and  the  doctor  quietly 
seated,  and  still  engaged  in  their  political  discus- 
sion. 

"  You  are  taking  it  easy,  as  usual,  coroner,"  said 
the  detective. 

"  Yes,  I  always  have  plenty  of  time  when  you 
fellows  are  with  me  !  But  I'll  go  now  and  rake  up 
a  jury,  and  look  around  for  witnesses." 

"  It  will  eat  into  your  week's  holiday,  coroner." 

"  Yes,  if  I  allow  it  !  But  I  think  I'll  form  a  jury 
and  then  adjourn  for  a  week,  to  gather  evidence, 
you  know  !  " 

The  coroner  winked,  while  inhaling  a  pinch  of 
snuff,  and  then  waddled  out  into  the  hall-way. 

In  the  meantime  the  detective  was  examining  the 


ON  THE   TRAIL,  57 

room,  which  was  long  and  broad,  occupying  the 
entire  angle  of  the  house.  It  had  but  one  door 
leading  from  the  hall,  but  as  a  recompense,  the 
three  sides  of  the  square  were  pierced  with  numer- 
ous windows,  between  which  were  tall  bookcases 
filled  with  books.  The  floor  was  uncarpeted  and 
of  polished  oak.  Under  a  brass  chandelier  hanging 
from  the  center  of  the  painted  ceiling,  was  a  desk 
covered  with  papers,  and  near  it,  resting  on  a 
Persian  rug,  a  curious  carved  revolving  chair. 
Heavy  curtains  were  drawn  before  all  the  windows, 
except  the  one  which  was  open,  and  from  before 
which  the  curtain  had  been  drawn  back.  Thick 
du.st  was  everywhere  ;  it  lay  on  the  polished 
floor  ;  it  whitened  the  bookcases  and  the  books, 
it  encumbered  the  rich  curtains  in  which  the  moths 
had  eaten  holes  ;  it  lay  on  sofas,  chairs  and  foot- 
stools. The  walls  were  stained  and  streaked,  and 
the  frescoes  on  the  ceilings  had  lost  their  color  and 
had  crumbled  away  in  patches. 

Lying  on  the  ground,  in  front  of  but  a  few  feet 
away  from  the  window,  was  the  dead  body, 
dressed  in  sober  black.  The  face  was  handsome 
and  refined  even  in  death  ;  undisturbed  by  suffer- 
ing and  with  a  frozen  smile  on  its  pale  lips.  The 
massive,  curling  brown  hair  was  matted  together  by 
the  same  fluid  that  formed  a  pool  just  under  the 
head. 

Detective  Sharpe,  having  finished  his  superficial 
survey  of  the  room,  kneeled  down  beside  the  rigid, 
supine  figure. 


58  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"You  have  examined  it  again,  doctor?" 

"  Not  thoroughly  ;  that  will  come  when  you  are 
through  with  it.  But  I  can  answer  general  ques- 
tions." 

"  What,  then,  if  you  please,  is  the  direction  of 
the  wound  ?" 

"  From  above,  running  backward.  My  present 
opinion  is,  that  he  was  stooping  down  in  front  of 
the  window,  let  us  say,  picking  something  from  the 
floor,  when  the  unsuspected  murderer,  facing  him, 
and  just  as  he  was  rising,  fired  the  pistol,  killing 
him  almost  instantly.  I  slrall  find  the  ball  some- 
what near  the  occipital  foramen." 

**  Probably  hiding  behind  the  curtain  yonder.  I 
find  nothing  in  the  pockets  but  this  case  of  cigars  ; 
and  these  three  letters,  which  I  will  read  in  a  min- 
ute. His  valuable  hunting-case  watch  is  untouched, 
but  there  is  not  even  a  penny  of  money  in  his 
pockets  ;  nothing  indicating  a  struggle.  As  you 
say,  doctor,  the  death  must  have  been  instantan- 
eous.    You  can  have  it  now  as  soon  as  you  wish." 

"  The  sooner  the  better." 

When  assistance  had  been  called  and  the 
body  removed  to  another  room.  Captain  Travers 
addressed  the  detective  with  the  words  : 

"  Facts  are  less  abundant  here  than  outside  !  " 

"  No  ;  but  they  are,  perhaps,  more  perplexing," 
answered  the  detective,  without  raising  his  eyes 
from  the  letters  he  was  reading.  "  The  coroner  now 
can  run  his  useless  course  as  soon  as  he  wishes. 
When  he  reaches  the  verdict  of  "  died  at  the  hands 


Oy  THE  TRAIL.  59 

of  some  person  or  persons  unknown  to  the  jury," 
justice  will  be  less  trammeled  in  its  actions.  In  the 
meantime  look  here  !  "  The  detective  had  drawn 
forward  the  curtain  covering  the  open  window,  and 
pointed  to  a  brass-curtain  hook  on  which  was  a 
small  blue-silk  bow,  such  as  at  that  time  orna- 
mented the  skirts  of  a  woman's  dress. 

•'  If  our  murderer  was  a  man,  captain,  he  was 
hiding  behind  the  curtain  and  wore  a  woman's  dress  ; 
and  in  coming  out  of  his  hiding  place  left  this  tell- 
tale ribbon  on  the  hook  !  A  woman  was  surely 
in  the  room.  Do  you  see  the  marks  of  her 
footsteps  in  the  dust  yonder  ?  We  have  pretty 
well  destroyed  all  traces  here  ;  but  look  toward 
the  upper  part  of  the  room,  where  we  have  not 
walked.  Here  the  impression  of  toe-point  and 
heel-point  are  so  plain  that  they  will  give  me  the 
opportunity  of  measuring  the  length  of  the  intruder's 
dainty  foot.  It  measures  eight  and  a  half  inches, 
the  same  length  as  the  tell-tale  imprints  in  the  soil 
without." 

"  But  I  think  your  reasoning  is  wrong  on  this 
point,  detective.  As  a  woman  stands,  the  point  of 
her  shoe  is  raised  above  the  level  of  the  ground." 

"  But  my  conclusion  is  still  the  same.  You  will 
notice  that  the  impression  I  measured  is  closer  to 
the  book-case,  the  toe  pointing  toward  it.  The 
toe  impression  is  very  strong,  and  it  suggests 
that  the  party  who  made  it  raised  herself 
on  her  tip-toes  to  reach  one  of  the  books  in  the 
case.     And  if  you  will  look,  you  will  see  that  on  a 


6o  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

certain  shelf  the  books  are  displaced  ;  if  you  will 
raise  yourself  beside  me  on  this  chair,  you  will  find 
that  there  are  impressions  of  finger-tips  on  the  dusty 
shelves.  If  you  are  curious,  captain,  here  is  the 
very  book  that  was  consulted.  Don't  disturb  the 
finger-marks  on  the  top." 

The  detective  had  withdrawn  from  the  case  a 
compact  duodecimo  volume,  bound  in  crimson 
cloth.  It  bore  no  title  on  the  outside,  and  on  open- 
ing it  he  discovered  that  it  had  once  been  a  blank- 
book  ;  but  the  pages  were  now  filled  with  a  close, 
but  bold,  legible  writing. 

"  It  is  a  memorandum-book,  and  here,  where  it  so 
suspiciously  gapes  open  without  an  exploring  finger 
turning  the  leaves,  a  large  number  of  pages  have 
been  torn  out.  Were  they  compromising  to  our 
intruder  ?  And  if  they  were  so,  was  that  the  only 
reason  why  she  paid  a  visit  to  this  deserted 
library  ?  I  will  confiscate  the  book  and  .study  it  at 
my  leisure." 

The  detective  thrust  the  volume  into  his  pocket, 
and  then  stood  gazing  thoughtfully  out  the  window. 

"  Were  the  letters  that  you  discovered  on  the 
dead  man  of  any  importance,  Detective  Sharpe  ?  " 

"  One  of  them  adds  the  complicating  element  of 
which  I  spoke  a  little  while  ago.  It  is  from  the 
Tom  Merton  whom  you  saw  in  the  row-boat,  and  it 
is,  seemingly,  in  answer  to  one  written  by  the  dead 
man.     You  shall  judge  for  yourself." 

The  detective  unfolded  one  of  the  letters  that  he 
held  in  his  hand  and  read  : 


ON  THE   TRAIL.  6 1 

"  My  Dear  Hugo  :  — 

"  Your  foreign  trip  has  puffed  you  up  !  If  I 
borrowed  money  of  you  I  intended  to  repay  it. 
I'm  hard  up  and  will  meet  you  at  the  appointed 
hour  at  Lesbia  Villa.  Don't  keep  me  waiting  and 
don't   disappoint  me.  Tom  Merton." 

"  The  envelope  shows  that  the  letter  was  posted 
in  the  city  on  the  12th — the  day  before  yesterday. 
Tom  Merton  will  need  looking  up.  Just  now  we 
will  interview  the  interloper  found  in  the  orchard." 

The  detective  gave  his  order,  and  in  a  few  min- 
utes a  disreputable,  ragged  tramp  was  thrust  into 
the  room  by  an  unsympathetic  policeman.  Detect- 
ive Sharpe  eyed  the  wretch  for  a  few  moments  in 
silence,  then  said  : 

"Answer  my  questions,  if  you  can,  without  lying. 
Your  name  ? " 

"  Ralph  Price." 

"  What  were  you  doing  in  the  orchard  ?  " 
•  "  Eatin'  the  apples  wot  nobody  claimed." 

"  At  what  time  ?  " 

"  Maybe  'tween  four  and  six." 

"  What  did  you  see  ?     Tell  me  all." 

"  I  see  a  woman  pass  out  on  the  balcony,  and 
popped  in  agin'  like  a  jack-in-the-box.  She  was 
dressed  in  a  whitey  yaller  dress,  and  a  white  thing 
was  wrapped  around  her  head  so  I  couldn't  see  her 
face.  I  went  ter  work  on  the  apples,  forgettin'  all 
'bout  her,  and  the  next  1  saw  of  her,  she  was  jist 
outside  the  walls  of  the  place,  runuin'  quick,  scared 
like.     She'd  left  her  shawl  behind  her.     Leastways 


62  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

it  wasn't  on  her  shoulders,  but  her  face  was  still 
covered." 

"  You  couldn't  see  the  front  of  the  house  from 
the  tree  ? " 

"  No  ! " 

"  What  else  did  you  see  ?  " 

"  Nothin',  and  I  didn't  know  nothin'  till  the 
'  cops '  catched  me  as  I  was  comin'  out  the 
gate." 

**  You  didn't  go  in  the  house  yourself?" 

"  What  fur  ?  I  ain't  reached  hookin'  gas-pipes 
yet." 

"  Take  him  away  and  keep  him  in  charge  till 
I'm  ready  to  dispose  of  him,"  said  the  detective, 
turning  to  his  subordinate.  "  I  shall  want  to 
question  him  more  closely  by  and  by." 

"  Do  you  imagine  he  invented  the  story  of  the 
woman?"  asked  the  captain,  when  the  tramp  was 
removed,  and  with  a  certain  tinge  of  remorse  at 
his  own  silence. 

"There  is  an  undoubted  element  of  truth  in  the 
statement,  and  when  I  explore  the  house  I  shall 
probably  discover  the  shawl  of  which  he  speaks. 
But  it  is  necessary,  before  I  go  further,  that  we 
should  learn  the  result  of  the  post  mortem.  The 
evidence  will  complete  what  I  call  the  circum- 
ference of  the  circle.  It  is  my  habit  to  accumulate 
a  mass  of  facts,  before  I  work  on  the  inner  history 
of  a  crime.  It  saves  time  and  prevents  premature 
conclusions." 

The  smiling  face  of  Doctor  Dubois  appeared  in 


ON  THE  TRAIL.  63 

the  door,  and,  a  moment  after,  the  doctor's  little 
figure  entered  the  room. 

"  Have  you  finished  ? " 

"  The  important  business  is  over,  detective,  and 
I'm  very  much  of  the  opinion  that  the  criminals 
depended  for  their  safety  on  the  stupidity  of  a 
deputy-coroner.  They  never  thought  an  old  gray 
rat  who  knows  his  P's  from  his  Q's  would  be  in 
the  business  !  " 

"  Have  you  discovered  any  thing  new  ?  " 

"  Nothing  except  the  victim  is  dead  !  But  while 
I  amuse  myself  examining  a  specimen  of  the  blood 
yonder  under  a  microscope,  do  you  amuse  yourself 
by  looking  around  the  room  for  a  stray  bullet. 
You  will  most  probably  find  it  embedded  in  the 
wall  or  woodwork." 

The  disciplined  detective  asked  no  questions,  but 
immediately  began  his  search,  while  the  doctor 
placed  the  little  microscope  he  carried  in  his  hand 
on  the  desk,  drew  back  the  curtain  opposite,  placed 
a  drop  of  blood  on  a  glass  slide,  examined  it  for  a 
brief  moment  under  the  microscope,  and  then,  with 
hands  in  pocket,  sauntered  to  one  of  the  bookcases 
and  amused  himself  by  reading  the  titles  on  the 
backs  of  the  books.  After  a  brief  interval,  he 
turned  and  said  : 

**  You  have  discovered  it  ?  " 

"  No  ;  but  I  will  have  the  room  explored  inch 
by  inch." 

"  I  am  not  particular,  as  I  only  suggested  the 
search  to  put  your  mind  in  a  proper  condition  to 


64  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

appreciate  my  discovery.  Now,  please  step  here 
beside  me.  Here  is  a  pistol  which  one  of  your  men 
discovered  in  the  bucket  of  the  well,  and  which  I 
took  from  him  as  he  was  sneaking  along  to  give  it 
to  you  ! "  With  the  words,  he  drew  a  pistol 
from  his  pocket  and  placed  it  in  the  detective's 
hand. 

"  You  will  observe,  detective,  that  one  of  the 
barrels  of  the  revolver  is  discharged," 

"  No  doubt  of  it,  doctor  !  " 

"  Very  well.  Now  here  is  the  bullet  that  I 
extracted  from  the  brain  of  the  dead  man.  Com- 
pare it  with  the  intact  bullets  in  the  chambers." 

"  It  is  smaller  in  every  way,  doctor,  and  belongs 
to  a  different  weapon." 

"  Exactly  ;  and  thereby  demonstrating  that  the 
pistol  with  which  the  murder  was  committed  is  still 
to  be  found." 

"  The  criminal  was  not  wise,"  said  the  detective, 
with  his  eyes  resting  on  the  weapon  in  his  hand. 
"  You'll  be  interested  to  hear,  Captain  Travers,  that 
on  the  handle  of  this  revolver  is  a  silver  plate  on 
which  are  engraved  the  initials  G.  D.  It's  curious 
how  very  anxious  this  G.  D.  is  to  get  himself  hung. 
But  tell  me,  doctor,  does  your  microscope  say  any 
thing." 

"  It  has  a  very  strong  objection  to  speak  just 
now.  By  and  by  it  may  say  something  valuable. 
But  I  strongly  advise  you  to  look  for  the  other 
pistol." 

"  If  it  is  to  be  found,  I  will  find  it.     In  the  mean- 


Oy  THE   TRAIL.  65 

time  the  captain  and  I  are  going  on  a  little  explor- 
ing expedition." 

"  Good.  I  shall  remain  here  till  five  o'clock  ; 
but,  I  warn  you,  I  will  not  miss  my  dinner,  even  for 
my  friend  Travers." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AN    EXPLORING    EXPEDITION. 

•*  WOU  think  the  criminal  is  a  woman?"  asked 
1  the  captain,  when  the  detective,  after  giving 
a  few  orders,  passed  down  the  veranda  steps  and 
was  walking  briskly  toward  the  village. 

"  That  is  my  present  opinion,  and  if  I  am  com- 
pelled to  change  it  hereafter,  I  shall  feel  as  if  I  am 
not  fit  for  my  business." 

"  Is  it  not  possible  that  you  may  be  mistaken 
and  hasty  ?  " 

"  They  say  that  every  thing  is  possible,  and  I 
may  be  mistaken,  but  if  every  fact  we  discover 
does  not  strengthen  my  belief,  why,  my  vanity  is 
greater  than  my  prophetic  vision.  If  I  could  only 
interview  the  mysterious  G.  D.,  at  this  moment,  a 
large  amount  of  valuable  time  might  be  spared. 
And  yet,  if  the  mysterious  /le  is  the  enemy  of  the 
mysterious  s/ie,  we  shall  be  landed  in  a  maze." 

"  You  are  speaking  as  mysteriously  as  a  prophet, 
detective." 

"  I  am  trying  to  solve  the  one  puzzle  that  per- 
plexes  me.  We  must  either  suppose  that  our  G.  D, 
is  the  most  foolish  of  fools,  anxious  to  throw  a 
noose  around  his  neck,  or  we  must  suppose  that  he 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  67 

is  innocent,  and  the  real  guilty  party  is  endeavor- 
ing to  throw  the  blame  on  him.  Accepting  the  lat- 
ter alternative  as  the  more  probable,  I  boldly  assert 
that  no  one  but  an  impulsive,  rash  woman  would 
have  the  audacity  to  so  boldly  prepare  a  trap 
for  an  enemy.  She  has  committed  a  murder  ;  but 
even  the  crime  has  not  brought  her  discretion. 
She  does  not  here  show  ordinary  cunning ;  she 
forces  under  the  eyes  of  the  law  what  a  male  crim- 
inal, with  the  same  object  in  view,  would  force  the 
law  to  look  for.  No  one  could  miss  finding  the 
handkerchief  ;  nor  the  pistol.  And  here  is  another 
point  ;  she  had  the  pistol  in  her  possession  and 
discharges  one  of  its  chambers,  and  then  uses 
another  pistol  with  which  to  commit  the  murder  ! 
We  have  to  do  with  a  passionate  woman.  Captain 
Travers,  who  cares  more  to  accomplish  her  object 
than  to  plot  for  her  own  safety." 

"  May  not  both  man  and  woman  be  guilty  ? " 
"  I  have  thought  of  that  theory  and  rejected  it. 
The  initials  so  boldly  displayed  are  enough  to  con- 
demn it  in  my  eyes,  though,  of  course,  I  shall  not 
neglect  it  in  my  investigations.  If  both  are  con- 
cerned, the  man  is  deeply  in  love  or  deeply  indebted 
to  the  woman.  But  we  need  more  light  on  the 
antecedents  of  the  dead  man.  One  of  the  letters 
found  in  his  pocket  is  seemingly  from  his  lawyer,  a 
Mr.  Thomas  Terms,  whose  office  is  at  40  Myrtle 
Avenue,  and  to  Mr.  Terms  we  are  now  going." 

The  lawyer's  office  was  easily  found  ;  it  was  on 
the  main  street  of  the  village.     An  upright  post 


68  WHO  IS  G UIL TY? 

upheld  a  large  square  of  wood  bearing,  in  gigantic 
letters,  the  worthj^  man's  name.  Unfortunately, 
Mr.  Terms  was  absent,  busied  with  some  matters 
connected  with  the  murder,  and  would  not  return 
to  the  village  until  late  in  the  evening.  A  sallow- 
faced  young  man,  with  faint  indications  of  a  red 
mustache,  gave  the  information  with  cheerful 
alacrity.  This  young  man  was  Mr.  Abe  Clayton, 
the  lawyer's  clerk,  and  under  the  skillful  question- 
ing of  Detective  Sharpe  he  was  readily  induced  to 
tell  all  he  knew  of  the  past  history  of  some  of  the 
people  involved  in  the  tragedy.  In  Mr.  Clayton's 
opinion  the  object  of  the  murder  was  robbery.  It 
seems  that,  two  days  before,  Mr.  Addison  had 
drawn  ten  thousand  dollars  from  the  bank,  or 
rather  Mr.  Terms  drew  it  for  him,  on  one  of 
his  checks.  In  requesting  the  lawyer  to  obtain 
the  money  for  him,  Mr.  Addison  explained 
that  he  intended  to  use  it  in  renovating  the  old 
house.  Mr.  Clayton  expressed  the  confident 
opinion  that  the  murder  was  committed  on  account 
of  this  money.  Questioned  as  to  whom  he  sus- 
pected as  the  murderer,  Mr.  Clayton  displayed  a 
wily  reticence,  and  refused  to  be  "  caught  ".  He 
insinuated,  however,  that  Mr.  Addison  was  a 
"  softy  "  who,  when  in  the  village,  was  always  fol- 
lowed by  a  lot  of  "  beats  "  intent  on  borrowing 
money,  and  that  it  was  one  of  these  "  beats  "  who 
had  committed  the  murder.  On  being  asked  if 
he  knew  any  body  whose  name  would  fit  the  initials 
G.   D.,   Mr.  Clayton  winked  vigorously,   and   ex- 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  (>() 

pressed  the  opinion  that  "  Geoffrey  Draper  was  the 
chap  to  toe  the  mark  ! "  Mr.  Clayton  believed 
that  Geoffrey  Draper  had  "  left  the  village  for  the 
season  ".  Further  questioning  drew  out  the  facts 
that  Mr.  Draper  put  on  the  "  airs  "  of  a  gentleman, 
but  that  he  was  a  fraud.  He  had  once  been  the 
friend  of  the  dead  man,  following  him  everywhere, 
but  that  finally  the  disgusted  Mr.  Addison  had 
publicly  insulted  him,  "kicked  him  down-stairs 
and  given  him  the  dead  shake  !  "  According  to 
Mr.  Abe  Clayton,  Draper  accepted  the  insult  and 
appeared  among  his  friends  as  quietly  as  ever.  Mr. 
Clayton  concluded  his  rambling  account  by  brand- 
ing Geoffrey  Draper  as  "  a  calf's  liver  with  diluted 
water  instead  of  blood  in  his  veins.  However," 
he  added,  forgetting  his  pride  in  his  officiousness, 
"  if  he  hasn't  left  the  village,  and  you'd  like  to  see 
him,  I  can  give  you  a  lift.  Most  of  his  valuable 
correspondence  is  directed  to  the  care  of  our  P.  O. 
bo.x,  and  here  are  a  couple  of  letters  for  him  which 
you  can  take  up  to  his  house.  Its  number  is  27  on 
this  street,  a  little  distance  below  here.  If  he's 
gone,  you  can  send  'em  back." 

Detective  Sharpe  gratefully  accepted  the  mis- 
sion, and  retired  from  the  presence  of  the  young 
man,  after  expressing  the  intention  of  calling  on 
Mr.  Terms. 

He  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  Mr.  Draper's 
house,  which  was  an  ugly  little  brick  structure,  vul- 
garly pretentious  and  repelling.  The  detective, 
followed   by   the   captain,    unhesitatingly    walked 


70  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

to  the  veranda,  where  a  surly-faced  servant  was 
lounghig  on  an  arm-chair,  smokhig  a  pipe.  In 
answer  to  the  question,  he  condescended  to  give  the 
information  that  Mr.  Draper  was  not  at  home,  and 
that  he  did  not  know  when  he  would  be  at  home, 
"  But,"  he  added,  with  a  satirical  smile,  "  you  kin 
wait  and  try  your  luck.  May  be  he'll  be  back  next 
minute,  may  be  next  year  !  " 

He  lazily  rose,  pushed  open  the  front  door,  and 
ushered  the  visitors  into  a  small  but  tastefully  fur- 
nished room. 

"  That's  a  good  portrait,"  said  the  smiling 
detective,  pointing  to  an  oil  painting  that  had 
attracted  the  attention  of  Captain  Travers  the 
moment  he  entered  the  room,  and  from  which  he 
could  not  withdraw  his  eyes.  It  was  the  **  three- 
quarter  "  portrait  of  a  handsome  man  with  large 
russet-colored  beard  and  mustache — the  portrait  of 
a  face  he  had  seen  alive  in  tlie  muunlight  in  his 
lonely  watch  of  last  night. 

"That's  Mr.  Draper,"  said  the  servant.  "If 
you've  got  any  thing  to  say  you  might  say  it  to  the 
pictur'  and  save  time  !  " 

Detective  Sharpe  preferred  the  surly  servant  as 
a  companion,  and  he  speedily  converted  him  into  a 
very  communicative  witness,  especially  when  he 
announced  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  sum  of 
money  for  his  master.  The  arrival  of  visitors  had 
attracted  a  comely  woman  to  the  doorway,  and  the 
announcement  of  money  stimulated  her  into 
saying  : 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  71 

"  Then  we'll  git  what's  been  owed  us  for  the  last 
three  months  ;  and  the  grocer  and  butcher  and 
baker  '11  git  paid,  too." 

The  surly  man  and  the  comely  woman  had  now 
to  be  restrained  in  their  volubility  ;  but  from 
their  diffuse  statements  the  following  facts  were 
gained  :  Mr.  Draper  was  deeply  in  debt,  even  to 
his  servants.  On  the  morning  before,  the  servants 
had  demanded  their  money,' and  Mr.  Draper  said 
that  he  expected,  on  that  same  morning,  to  receive 
the  money  for  a  piece  of  property  he  had  sold, 
and  that  on  his  return  from  the  city  all  his  debts 
would  be  paid.  He  had  gone  out  after  breakfast 
on  the  day  before,  and  they  had  not  seen  him  since, 
though  he  had  promised  to  return  in  a  few  hours. 
Concerning  his  habits,  the  cook  had  much  to  say  ; 
a  veiled  woman  or  women  were  coming  to  the 
house  at  all  hours  in  the  day  or  night,  and  Mr. 
Draper  himself  opened  the  door.  He  had  no  other 
friends  in  the  village  but  this  woman  or  these 
women,  "  for  they  may  a  bin  many,  for  their  faces 
was  always  veiled,  and  all  cats  is  gray  in  the 
dark."  Three  evenings  ago  "  he  had  a  awful 
quarrel  with  the  woman  what  visited  him."  Cook, 
who  was  not  listening,  "  heard  the  woman  say, 
'  You  must  not  risk  it !  I  love  you,  and  you've 
run  enough  danger  for  me.'  Then  I  hear  a  kiss, 
and  he  says,  *  I'd  risk  any  thing  to  bring  you 
happiness,  my  dear.'  Then  they  whisper,  and  by 
and  by  he  says,  '  When  I  get  the  money  we'll  start 
out  on  a  new  plan.'      Then  she  says,  '  Any  thing 


7 2  WHO  IS  G UIL  TV? 

but  this  life  ;  it's  killing  me.'  And  then  he  kisses 
and  hugs  her." 

Cook  had  no  idea  who  the  veiled  woman  was, 
but  she  had  rings  on  her  fingers  and  came  in  her 
carriage.  In  cook's  opinion,  her  master  had  got  a 
large  sum  of  money,  and  then  run  away  with  it  to 
escape  his  creditors,  for  "  he  was  a  wild  bad  'un  !  " 

"  A  woman  came  last  night !  "  said  the  surly 
man.  "  I  didn't  see  her  face,  and  I  didn't  open  the 
door  ;  but  I  looked  out  the  window  to  tell  her 
master  wasn't  home,  and  I  see  she  was  dressed  in  a 
white  dress  with  di'monds  flashing  in  her  ears.  If 
he''d\i\n  home  he'd  a  let  her  in." 

"  Of  course  he  would  !  "  exclaimed  the  cook,  in- 
dignantly. **  Such  goings  on,  and  honest  helps 
can't  get  their  honest  earnings.  It's  a  shame,  and 
I  ain't  afraid  to  say  so  !  " 

The  detective  had  risen  and  approached  a  little 
round  table,  on  which  were  several  unopened  let- 
ters. While  speaking  his  right  hand  toyed  idly 
with  the  envelopes. 

"  It's  hardly  worth  while  waiting  here  any 
longer,"  he  said,  with  a  quick  glance  at  the  letters. 
"  I  will  come  again  to-morrow,  and  I  sincerely  hope 
that  Mr.  Draper  will  be  at  home  to  receive  the 
money  I  bring  him  !  " 

When  he  left  the  house  one  of  the  letters  that 
was  on  the  round  table  reposed  snugly  in  the  side 
pocket  of  his  coat. 

"  Your  theory  is  stretching  to  a  dangerously 
thin     condition,    is    it    not,    Detective    Sharpe  ? " 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  73 

asked  Captain  Travers  when  they  had  turned 
their  backs  on  the  Uttle  brick  house. 

"  It  seems  so  !  "  was  the  good-natured  answer. 
"  But  I  still  think  it  is  strong  enough  to  hold 
the  guilty  party — or  parties  !  If  our  G.  D.  is  a  fool, 
so  much  the  worse  for  him.  He  disappeared  at  a 
very  unfortunate  moment,  if  he  is  innocent." 

"  And  if  he  is  innocent  he  did  a  very  foolish  thing ; 
for  I  saw  him  gazing  anxiously  up  toward  the 
house  in  which  the  murdered  man's  body  lay  !  " 

Without  further  comment  Captain  Travers  de- 
scribed his  experience  of  the  night  before  ;  that  is, 
the  portion  that  related  to  the  man  with  the  russet 
whiskers.  Through  a  feeling  which  he  could  not 
account  for  himself,  he  still  refrained  from  men- 
tioning the  more  startling  adventure  with  the  mys- 
terious woman. 

"  So  our  friend  did  not  run  away,  after  all  !  "  was 
the  detective's  criticism.  "  That  is,  we  can  now  be 
certain  that  he  remained  in  the  village  till  six  or 
seven  o'clock  last  night.  That  is  something  gained, 
something  to  lean  on.  According  to  the  testimony 
of  our  tramp,  a  woman  was  in  the  house  at  the 
same  time.  Was  it  a  coincidence,  or  were  both 
working  with  one  object  ?  Did  they  return  for 
something  they  had  forgotten  ;  or  were  they  seek- 
ing for  something  that  they  could  not  find  ?  Was 
money  the  only  object  of  the  murder,  or  was  it 
money  and  something  else  ?  W'hether  he  shares 
the  guilt,  or  is  innocent,  the  solution  of  the  mystery 
lies  with  the  very  foolish  G.  D  !  " 


74  tV//0  /S  GUILTY? 

"  You  still  hold  to  the  woman  theory  ?  " 

"  Always,"  answered  the  detective  with  assur- 
ance. "  She  is  the  heroine  and  he  only  a  helpless 
aid,  even  if  he  shares  the  crime.  He  may  have 
fired  the  pistol-shot  for  money,  which  she  clamored 
for,  but  her  object  was  not  money.  Her  safety 
depended  on  the  murdered  man's  silence  ;  he  held 
some  secret  that  would  ruin  her.  To  silence  one 
tool,  she  used  another,  and  I  should  not  be 
astonished  that  to  her  is  due  the  mysterious  disap- 
pearance that  puzzles  us." 

"  You  believe  there  is  another  murder  ? " 

"  It  would  not  astonish  me  ?  " 

"  You  have  converted  a  woman  into  a  fiend  !  " 
said  the  captain  with  disgust. 

"  Nature  has  done  so  before  me  !  There  is 
nothing  more  out-and-out  wicked  than  a  con- 
scienceless woman  struggling  for  her  own  safety. 
Think  over  all  the  facts  of  the  case  which  we  have 
thus  far  discovered,  and  then  tell  me  what  you 
think  ;  not  of  my  new,  but  of  my  reconstructed 
theory,  which,  as  facts  accumulate,  I  may  have  to 
reconstruct  and  reconstruct  again.  I  make  it  larger 
to  embrace  all  the  facts  ;  but  from  first  to  last, 
the  nucleus  of  our  snowball  remains  the  same." 

"  I  listen  to  you  with  interest  and  admiration, 
and  if  I  venture  to  differ,  I  use  only  the  privilege 
you  have  given  me." 

"  I  court  your  criticism,  Captain  Travers  !  Now 
listen  to  the  reconstructed  hypothesis  :  Suppose 
there  is  a  woman  moving  in  the  upper  circles  of 


AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  75 

life,  respected,  honored  and  admired.  Suppose 
that,  in  former  days,  she  has  done  something 
which  would  degrade  her.  Suppose  that,  in  some 
way,  the  murdered  man  was  acquainted  with  the 
fact.  But  he  has  gone  away  on  a  pleasure  voyage 
without  making  the  fact  public.  In  a  little  while 
news  is  received  that  the  man  and  his  yacht  were 
swallowed  up  in  the  ocean.  Such  a  fact  was 
reported  in  the  newspapers  of  Mr.  Addison  and  his 
yacht.  The  woman  feels  perfectly  safe,  and 
rejoices.  Let  us  suppose,  now,  that  she  met  with  a 
man  like  our  G.  D.  is  reported  to  be,  a  handsome, 
dressy  fellow.  That  he  is  not  her  equal,  in  intellect 
or  otherwise,  makes  no  difference.  Some  of  your  own 
aristocratic  fedies  have  run  away  with  coachmen. 
We  will  say  that  she  is  smitten  with  him  ;  but  for 
some  reason,  which  I  hope  to  discover,  dares  not 
openly  show  her  infatuation.  Perhaps  she  has  par- 
ents who  know  how  unworthy  G.  D.  is,  and  would 
sternly  forbid  any  association  with  him.  In  any 
case  she  dares  not  openly  marry  him  ;  and  neither 
possesses  enough  money  to  suggest  an  elopement. 
While  the  annoyances  naturally  incident  to  such  a 
state  of  affairs  are  accumulating,  the  supposed 
dead  man  returns  to  life.  He  threatens  the  woman; 
— if  he  loves  her  he  will  surely  do  so  !  At  least  we 
will,  temporarily,  suppose  that  his  reappearance 
places  her  in  a  dangerous  position.  On  a  certain 
day  he  withdraws  ten  thousand  dollars  from  the 
bank  for  his  own  use.  The  woman  hears  of  this  and 
uses  it   as  a  means  of  stimulating  G.  D.  to  robbery 


J 6  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

and  murder.  The  fool  falls  into  the  trap,  and  when 
he  has  served  the  purpose  of  doing  what  she  alone 
could  not  do,  she  quietly  gets  rid  of  him  ;  in  what 
way  I  am  not  yet  prepared  to  say.  When  she  has 
made  him  vanish,  she  has  so  arranged  it  that  sus- 
picion shall  all  point  to  him,  even  his  disappearance 
adding  a  finishing  touch  to  the  clumsy  but  not  in- 
artistic work  !  If  you  ask  me  why  she  visited  the 
house  after  the  crime,  I  will  answer  that  it  was  in 
connection  with  the  secret.  She  tore  the  leaves  out 
of  the  memorandum-book,  and  did  other  things 
which  I  will  discover  when  I  go  carefully  over  the 
house  this  evening.  At  least  that  is  my  rough  theory 
which  I  give  you  in  accordance  with  the  promise 
that  you  should  see  and  hear  all  I  do  ^nd  think  in 
the  working  up  of  this  case.  Ponder  it  in  bed  to- 
night, and  the  weakness  that  you  discover  I  may 
be  able  to  strengthen  when  we  meet  again  to- 
morrow." 

They  had  reached  the  old  house  by  this  time. 
Dr.  Dubois  was  pacing  slowly  up  and  down  the 
veranda,  enjoyingly  puffing  at  a  cigar  ;  and  with 
hands  clasped  behind  his  back.  He  had  plucked  a 
small  bouquet  of  choice  flowers,  and  thrust  them  in 
the  lapel  button-hole  of  his  black  frock-coat,  and 
every  now  and  then  he  bent  his  head  and  inhaled 
their  perfume.  He  greeted  his  friend  with  a  pleas- 
ant smile,  and  glanced  at  the  detective  with  an 
amused  expression  on  his  face,  and  in  his  bright 
gray  eyes. 

"  Is  the  coroner  within,  doctor  ?  " 


A  N  EX  PL  ORING  EXP  EDI  TION.  7  7 

"  No  ;  he  has  gone  to  the  city.  The  inquest  is 
adjourned  for  a  week  !  " 

"  Was  nothing  done  ?  " 

"  Yes,  a  jury  empaneled,  and  the  dead  body 
looked  at." 

"  No  evidence  taken  at  all  ? " 

"  None  !  " 

"  That  is  remarkably  stupid  even  for  a  coroner." 

"  Judgments  are  as  various  as  tastes,"  said  the 
doctor  gayly,  "  and  talking  of  tastes  suggests  that 
it  is  almost  time  to  go  home  to  dinner.  It's  five 
o'clock,  Travers,  and  if  you  are  going  back  with  me 
it  s  time  to  move  !  I  suppose,  detective,  you 
remain  all  night  here  ?  " 

"  1  shall  not  sleep  until  I  have  thoroughly 
examined  the  house." 

"  Well,  you  won't  die  of  loneliness  or  of  lack  of 
stimulation  to  work."  He  turned  to  a  tall,  gray- 
haired  man,  who  at  the  moment  came  out  on  the 
veranda,  and  said,  "  Max,  this  's  Detective  Sharpe, 
who  has  staked  his  reputation  on  bringing  your 
master's  murderer  to  justice.  Detective,  this  is 
Max  Newton,  who  has  sworn  to  devote  his  life  to 
revenging  his  master's  murder  !  " 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WISDOM    AND    BEAUTY. 

"  T   AM  not  sorry  to  escape  to  more    congenial 

1  company,"  said  the  doctor,  thrusting  his  arm 
through  that  of  his  friend.  "  Sharpe  is  just  a  trifle 
of  a  bore  !  " 

"  I  hope  Miss  Gower  is  better  !  "  said  the  captam, 
somewhat  irrelevantly,  yet  unable  longer  to  sup- 
press the  anxiety  that  had  haunted  him  all  day. 

"  Keep  your  common-sense,  Travers.  She  is 
probably  out  of  her  narcotized  state,  and  will  look 
very  interesting  with  her  pale  face  and  elaborate 
dress.  But  don't  make  a  fool  of  yourself.  Listen 
to  the  birds,  and  think  your  romance." 

"  I  will  not  trouble  you  now  ;  but  I  must  have 
your  advice  !  " 

"  Keep  it  till  I  come  into  your  room  to-night.  I 
am  in  a  mood  todreamof  the  luxuries  that  the  little 
treasure,  Percy,  has  prepared  for  my  special  delight. 
I  surrender  the  nightingale  to  you  ;  leave  me,  then, 
to  the  memory  of  chicken  croquettes." 

The  homeward  journey  was  made  in  silence,  both 
men  becoming  absorbed  in  their  thoughts.  No  news 
waited  for  them  at  their  journey's  end.  Miss  Gower 
had  remained  all  day  in  her  room,  but,  according  to 


WISD OM  AND  BEAUTY.  79 

her  maid,  was  more  comfortable,  though  still  under 
the  influence  of  the  drug. 

The  doctor  heartily  enjoyed  the  excellent  dinner, 
but  Captain  Travers  sat  at  the  table  merely  out  of 
ceremony,  every  moment  seeming  an  hour,  and 
every  word  irritating  his  sense  of  hearing  like  loud 
peals  from  a  funeral  bell.  The  doctor  and  his  host 
spoke  of  the  condition  of  Miss  Gower  ;  Mr.  Morris 
uttered  the  belief  that  she  was  a  confirmed  opium- 
eater  and  expressed  the  intention  of  placing  her  in 
an  asylum  for  the  cure  of  the  disease,  to  which 
the  doctor   nodded  vigorous  assent. 

Captain  Travers  retired  to  his  room  at  the  first 
opportunity,  and  passed  several  very  weary  hours 
in  restlessly  pacing  up  and  down.  The  rustling  of 
a  dress  in  the  hall  seemed  to  stimulate  him  to  a 
certain  resolution.  He  approached  the  door,  and 
as  Miss  Percy  passed  by  it,  on  her  way  to  the  hall, 
he  said  : 

"  Pardon  me  ;  but  I  found  this  little  thing  near 
the  house  to-day.     Perhaps  it  belongs  to  you." 

With  the  words  he  withdrew  a  small  shawl  from 
his  pocket  and  placed  it  in  her  hands. 

"  It  belongs  to  Miss  Gower,"  said  the  maid,  pos- 
itively, "  and  disappeared  mysteriously  yesterday. 
With  your  permission  I  will  take  possession  of  it  in 
my  mistress's  name." 

"  Of  course,"  laughed  the  captain,  nervously. 
*'  If  it  is  hers  !" 

"  It  is  hers,  and  there  is  not  another  like  it  in  the 
country." 


8o  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  Then  keep  it,  by  all  means.  Can  you  kindly 
inform  me  where  the  doctor  is  ? " 

"  He  expressed  the  determination  to  write  out  his 
report  before  he  retired.    Do  you  wish  to  see  him  ?  " 

''  No  !  no  !  "  groaned  the  captain.  **  If  I  could 
forget  myself  I  would  be  happy." 

The  doctor  was  in  the  library,  where  every  thing 
had  been  arranged  for  his  comfort.  On  a  little  side- 
table  near  the  desk  were  cigars,  a  plate  of  dainty 
biscuits,  and  a  bottle  of  his  favorite  wine. 

"  She  is  a  treasure  !  Her  unconventional  sim- 
plicity is  charming  !  She  deserves  a  better  fate 
than  destiny  metes  out  to  her  ! "  The  worthy 
doctor  yawned  ;  the  wine  he  had  drunk  at  dinner 
made  him  sleepy,  and  he  was  not  in  a  mood  for  the 
serious  work  before  him.  But,  scorning  ease  when 
duty  claimed  him,  he  seated  himself  at  the  desk, 
and  soon  became  absorbed  in  his  work,  his  pen 
racing  furiously  over  the  paper,  scrawling  hiero- 
glyphics rather  than  words. 

He  was  in  the  midst  of  an  intricate  subject,  when 
there  was  a  discreet  tap  on  the  door,  and  in  answer 
to  his  permission,  Miss  Percy  entered  the  room. 
She  had  doffed  her  formal  attire,  and  her  slender 
figure  was  draped  in  a  loose  robe.  Her  hair  "had 
also  been  released  from  the  restraint  of  its  classical 
Greek  band,  and  fell  in  uncontrolled  freedom  over 
neck  and  bosom,  a  simple  blue  ribbon  partially 
restraining  its  rippling  wantonness. 

"  I  came  to  see  if  you  needed  any  thing  before  I 
retired,"  she  said,  standing  near  the  doorway. 


PVISD OM  A ND  BEA  U TV.  8 1 

"You  have  anticipated  all  my  wants,  Miss  Percy, 
and  I  shall  feel  reproached  if  you  dim  your  pretty 
eyes  by  keeping  awake  on  my  account." 

"  I  never  sleep  more  than  four  hours  ;  I  have 
learned  French  and  Italian  in  the  time  that  I  have 
stolen  from  sleep  ;  and  when  I  was  a  child  1  always 
studied  my  lessons  in  bed — that  is,  after  my  maid 
was  asleep.  All  my  energies  are  most  active  in  the 
night." 

"  I  wish  mine  were  at  the  present  moment.  I  am 
compelled  to  send  a  long  business  document  away 
early  in  the  morning,  and  in  my  eagerness  I  write 
so  illegibly  that  I  shall  be  compelled  to  correct  my 
spots  of  ink  into  readable  English." 

"  Would  you  allow  me  to  play  the  part  of  aman- 
uensis ? "  asked  the  young  woman,  timidly.  "  I 
do  not  write  badly  for  a  woman,  and  it  would 
be  a  great  happiness  to  assist  you,  even  as  a 
copyist." 

**  You  could  not  read  a  word  of  my  scrawl,"  said 
the  doctor,  eying  the  manuscript  before  him. 

"  May  I  make  the  attempt?  " 

He  handed  he  a  sheet  of  paper  with  a  smile,  and 
to  his  astonishment  she  read  it  with  unhesitating 
facility. 

"  Listen,  please  :  *  You  must  be  particular  in  every 
detail.  I  shall  feel  disappointed  if  we  do  not 
demonstrate  my  theory  of  the  case  without  the 
chance  of  an  objection.  It  will  not  be  the  firsl 
time  that  science  has  vindicated  justice,  and  re- 
proved blundering  self-assurance.     Murder  is  bad 


82  WHO  IS  GUILTY  ? 

enough  ! '  "  Miss  Percy  looked  up  from  the  page 
with  a  smile  of  triumph. 

"  You  read  without  hesitation  where  I  myself 
would  have  stumbled  ! "  said  the  doctor,  with 
unconcealed  admiration. 

"  Before  you  decide  you  must  see  my  hand-writ- 
ing." 

She  leaned  over  the  desk  so  close  to  him  that  a 
stray  lock  of  her  perfumed  hair  fell  on  his  shoulder, 
and  wrote,  with  a  bold,  free  hand  : 

"  *  You  say,  not  always  wisely,  know  thyself  ! 
Know  others,  ofttimes  is  the  better  maxim.* 

"  To  Professor  Dubois  from  his  ignorant,  yet 
devoted  friend,  May  Percy." 

*'  You  write  superbly,  and  are  very  heroic  in  your 
desire  to  help,  but  the  subject  is  hardly  fitted  for 
you  to  read." 

With  a  glance  of  gay  defiance,  she  seized  the 
pages  of  manuscript  from  the  table  and  read  them 
to  the  end.  "  There  is  nothing  here,  sir,  that  a 
school-girl  dare  not  read." 

"  I  had  not  reached  the  real  subject,  when  you 
appeared.  But  you  have  given  me  the  excuse  for 
idleness." 

"  I  am  sorry  for  disturbing  you,  and  for  reading 
your  manuscript,  for  it  recalls  my  father's  death, 
and  though  the  doctors  said  otherwise,  I  still  believe 
he  was  poisoned  by  his  cruel  second  wife.  I  have 
been  told — am  I  wrong? — that  there  are  some 
agents  that  may  destroy  life  without  leaving  any 
traces  behind  ? " 


WISDOM  A  ND  BE  A  UTY.  83 

"  In  the  present  state  of  science  that  is  almost  an 
impossibility.  Science  is  not  infallible,"  said  the 
doctor,  admiring  the  graceful  pose  of  his  young 
friend,  and  the  child-like  interest  revealed  in  her 
pretty  face,  "  but  /  have  never  seen  the  poison  that 
I  could  not  discover.  I  know  a  case  " — the  doctor 
suddenly  paused,  then  said  with  dry  dogmatism  : 
"  No,  I  have  never  been  deceived  !  I  have  made 
mistakes,"  he  added,  speedily  recovering  his  good 
humor,  "  but  I  have  found  them  out  before  they 
caused  any  trouble.  Criminals,  even  when  most 
clever  and  attractive,  do  some  little  thing  or  leave 
something  undone,  which  reveals  the  cloven  hoof. 
Take  the  case  of  Mr.  Addison,  for  example  !  " 

In  her  interest  in  the  conversation  she  had  placed 
her  little  clasped  hands  on  the  doctor's  knee,  and 
there  was  an  expression  of  absorbed  attention  in 
her  face.  In  a  fatherly  way,  he  gently  patted  her 
on  the  head. 

"  This  horrible  talk  will  give  you  the  nightmare, 
my  child." 

"  I  am  very  much  interested.  You  were  say- 
ing ?  " 

"  You  have  very  pretty  hair.  If  I  were 
younger " 

"  Please  do  not  descend  to  common  flattery,"  she 
pleaded,  somewhat  impatiently.  '*  Interest  me  with 
your  conversation,"  she  said,  with  a  fine  smile,  "  and 
I  shall  not  remember  the  boldness  of  your  hand. 
You  were  speaking  of  the  stupidity  of  crim- 
inals," 


84  IV HO  IS  G UIL TY? 

"  I  was  taking  the  case  of  Mr.  Addison  as  an  ex- 
ample of  it,"  he  said,  toying  with  a  strand  of  her  hair. 
"  The  criminal  shoots  his  victim  in  the  skull  and 
then  leaves  his  pistol  to  reveal  his  crime.  Here 
you  find  /  will  not  hesitate.  You  shall  copy  my 
report  of  the  case  to-morrow,  and  you  will  see  that 
I  boldly  stake  my  reputation  on  the  pistol  bullet 
being  the  cause  of  death." 

Miss  Percy  sighed,  as  if  a  weight  were  lifted 
from  her  mind,  then  smiled  gayly,  glancing  sideways 
at  his  bold  hand. 

"  I  am  tired  of  seriousness,  and  my  recollection 
of  the  proprieties  is  coming  back.  As  you  are  so 
very  good,  I  will  weave  you  a  watch-chain  out  of 
the  hair  your  wisdom  so  much  admires." 

"  I  will  wear  it  all  my  life,  and  it  shall  be  buried 
with  me  !  " 

She  glanced  at  him  with  doubtful,  then  with 
pleased  surprise,  and  a  subtile  smile  curled  her 
ripe  lips. 

"  You  teach  me  I  am  still  human  !  "  she  said 
softly.  He  had  risen,  and  she  now  rose  and  stood 
beside  him. 

"  You  regret  your  promise  ? " 

"  It  has  not  been  sealed." 

With  a  gay  smile,  not  without  its  element  of  sad- 
ness, he  pressed  his  lips  to  her  soft  cheeks.  She 
started  back  with  a  flush  and  frown  which  speedily 
dissolved  into  a  troubled  smile. 

"  We  know  each  other  now  !  "  she  said,  in  a 
forced  voice.     "  Farewell  till  to-morrow  !  " 


WISDOM  AND  BE  A  UTY.  85 

With  a  mocking  courtesy  and  a  light  laugh,  she 
turned  and  quitted  the  room. 

"  Little  Judas  !  She  is  young  to  indulge  in  that 
kind  of  treachery.  But  she  is  an  expert  and  very 
attractive,  even  though  her  soft  hair  become  a 
noose  that  will  choke  her  !  " 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


WEAVING     HEMP. 


ON  this  same  night  Detective  Sharpe  is  weaving  a 
noose  in  which  hemp  takes  the  place  of  hair. 
The  evening  is  still  young,  and  he  is  sitting  in  the 
library  with  the  venerable  servant,  Max,  as  a  com- 
panion. He  has  discovered  that  the  old  man's 
frank  face  is  a  true  index  of  his  heart  ;  and  Detect- 
ive Sharpe  is  noted  for  his  thorough  knowledge  of 
human  nature. 

With  praiseworthy  self-repression,  Max  Newton 
does  not  allow  his  personal  feelings  to  lead  him  into 
exaggeration  or  morbid  sentiment.  He  answers 
the  questions  addressed  to  him  with  grave  unhes- 
itancy,  yet  with  a  calm  deliberation,  as  if  his  rever- 
ence of  truth  were  even  greater  than  his  agony  at 
the  death  of  a  beloved  master.  He  carefully  dis- 
tinguishes between  suspicions  and  facts,  and  has 
deliberately  delivered  the  statement,  that  he  would 
rather  prefer  the  guilty  wretch  should  escape 
than  that  his  soul  should  be  blackened  by  even  the 
shadow  of  a  false  charge.  A  solitary  candle  is 
burning  on  the  desk,  and  ca^s  a  dim  light  on  his 
pale  and  seriously  sorrowful  face. 

Lying  before  the  detective  is  the  crimson-bound 


IV£A  VING  HEMP.  87 

memorandum  book  which  he  had  abstracted  from 
the  bookcase  earUer  in  the  day,  and  the  conversa- 
tion revolves  around  it  as  a  center. 

According  to  Mr.  Newton,  his  master  had  no 
vices.  Mr.  Addison  was  "  a  large-hearted  noble 
gentleman ".  As  a  child  he  was  sad  and  self- 
repressed,  and  inherited  some  of  the  eccentricities 
of  his  grandfather  "  who  was  haunted  with  the  idea 
that  his  enemies  were  bent  on  murdering  him". 
Under  this  fear  he  built  Lesbia  Villa,  planning 
"  hiding-places  in  case  of  surprise,  and  with 
mysterious  doors  of  exit  for  the  purposes  of  escape". 
The  boy  Hugo  loved  solitude  and  developed  such 
strange  fancies  that  his  parents  became  alarmed, 
and  finally  determined  that  he  must  have  a  com- 
panion who,  when  he  grew  to  man's  estate,  was  to 
become  his  wife.  They  wrote  to  one  of  their  dis- 
tant friends  who  was  poor  and  burdened  with  a 
large  family  ;  and  a  wearisome  correspondence 
ended  by  the  friends  sending  one  of  their  daughters 
to  the  house.  The  boy  became  the  slave  of  the  girl, 
and  her  presence  produced  the  effects  that  the 
fond  parents  had  hoped  for.  A  number  of  tranquil, 
happy  years  passed  by,  but  as  the  girl  advanced  to 
womanhood  she  became,  in  Mr.  Newton's  language, 
a  "  thoughtless,  heartless  coquette  ".  Fortunately, 
her  adopted  parents  did  not  live  to  witness  her 
complete  transformation. 

"  They  died,"  said  Mr.  Newton,  solemnly,  "  in 
ignorance  of  the  storm  that  was  gathering  over  the 
head  of  their  beloved  son,  and  he  inherited  their 


88  WHO  JS  G UIL  TY ? 

wealth.  The  girl,  who  had  been  a  flirt,  now  became 
a  prude,  and  refused  to  hve  under  the  same  roof 
with  her  intended  husband." 

The  patient  Mr.  Addison  secured  for  her  a 
little  cottage  which  "  he  furnished  with  elegance  ". 
The  girl  and  her  maid  removed  to  her  new  quarters 
after  the  funeral  of  her  adopted  parents,  and  Mr. 
Addison,  havmg  "  a  horror  of  the  house  in  which  his 
parents  died  ",  leased  another  little  cottage  for 
himself  at  the  other  end  of  the  village.  The  girl, 
according  to  Mr.  Newton,  now  threw  aside  all 
restraint.  Mr.  Geoffrey  Draper  had  come  to  the 
village,  and  he  became  her  especial  favorite.  Mr. 
Addison  angrily  expostulated  with  her,  but  she 
defied  him.  In  Max  Newton's  language,  "  she  had 
developed  into  a  fiend  ".  In  her  malice  she  wrote 
letter  after  letter  to  Mr.  Addison,  charging  him  with 
all  kinds  of  cruelties  and  absurdities.  She  refused 
to  see  him  ;  she  refused  to  marry  him.  Mr. 
Addison  was  plunged  into  the  deepest  grief  by 
these  actions. 

"  His  heart  was  broken,"  said  Mr.  Newton,  with 
the  tears  welling  up  to  his  eyes.  "  He  tried  to 
escape  from  his  troubles  ;  he  speculated  in  stocks, 
he  bought  a  yacht,  and  he  sailed  for  a  year  any- 
where, everywhere,  and  I  believe  he  is  happier  now 
than  when  he  was  alive.  As  to  the  woman,  she 
left  the  house  he  had  provided  for  her  and  went 
elsewhere,  and  for  a  year,  as  I  am  informed,  has 
been  living  to  please  herself." 

"  Where  are  the  letters  she  wrote  to  him  ?  " 


WE  A  VING  HEMP.  89 

"  I  do  not  know.  But,  surely,  somewhere  in  this 
house." 

"  You  can  give  me  no  other  information  on  this 
point  ?" 

The  old  man  hesitated  ;  a  spasm  passed  over  his 
face,  and  his  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

"  Mine  is  a  sad  position,  Detective  Sharpe  !  "  he 
said  in  a  trembling  voice.  "  To  revenge  my  dear 
master's  death  I  would  willingly  lay  down  my  own 
life  ;  but  in  avenging  it  I  am  compelled  to  act  con- 
trary to  my  master's  orders.  Time  and  time  again 
he  has  said  to  me,  '  Spare  her,  Max,  at  whatever 
cost !  If  she  outlives  me,  and  I  have  a  presenti- 
ment she  will,  she  must  live  honored  and  respected 
by  the  world.'  If  I  ever  dared  to  speak  harshly  of 
her — I  held  him  in  my  arms  when  he  was  a  child, 
and  he  tolerated  me  ! — he  would  place  his  hands 
over  my  lips  and,  with  a  sad  smile,  repeat : 
*  Spare  her  now  and  always  !  I  love  her,  Max  ! 
The  ideal  is  grown  into  my  life,  and  the  reality 
has  no  power  to  destroy  it.  She  will  repent  one 
day  ! '  " 

"  I  appreciate  your  loyal  affection  to  a  kind 
master  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  you  have  a  duty  to 
perform  to  the  world  and  to  morality.  I  hope  you 
do  not  wish  the  criminal  to  escape." 

"Not  if  it  were  my  own  sister!"  said  the  old 
man,  impetuously. 

The  detective  felt  a  pleasant  glow  of  satisfaction, 
and  secretly  congratulated  himself  on  his  own  cun- 
ning and  his  companion's  simplicity. 


90  WHO  IS  G UIL  TY? 

"  Let  us  now  return  to  the  letters,  Mr.  Newton, 
and  please  tell  me  all  you  know." 

The  old  man  took  a  crumpled  piece  of  paper 
from  his  pocket  and  said  : 

"  A  few  days  after  our  return  here  from  a  year's 
absence,  I  received  orders  to  take  the  yacht  down 
to  the  city  to  have  it  cleaned.  Before  surrendering 
it  at  the  ship-yard,  I  looked  around  to  see  that 
nothing  of  value  had  been  left  aboard.  In  the 
waste-basket  in  my  master's  cabin  I  discovered  this 
unfinished  draught  of  a  letter." 

The    detective    hastily    seized    the    paper   and 
read  : 
"  My  life  and  love  : 

"  Your  letter  reached  me  after  my  long  absence, 
but  its  cruelty  had  no  power  to  prevent  the  thrill  of 
delight  its  receipt  gave  me.  I  can  not,  I  dare  not, 
accede  to  your  request,  which  would  rob  me  of  my 
vindication  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  But  more — I 
still  love  you,  even  if  you  hate  me  in  return,  and  in 
my  love  I  must  have  some  hold  over  you.  You  are 
free  to  do  all  you  wish,  and  with  my  life  and  my 
fortune  I  will  assist  you  to  what  jw/  believe  is  your 
future  happiness,  /,  your  misery.  You  have  been 
reckless,  cruel  and  unjust  ;  but  I  forgive  you,  and 
love  you,  or  rather,  the  ideal  which  has  been  knitted 
into  my  very  soul.  But  I  must  keep  those  letters, 
not  for  the  world's  eyes,  but  for  my  own  happiness. 
They  have  blasted  my  life,  but  they  are  part  of  my 
past.  To  part  with  them  would  be  to  part  with  my 
soul.    No  eyes  but  my  own  will  ever  see  them.   Even 


WEAVING  HEMP.  91 

should  your  words  come  true  and  I  meet  an  unex- 
pected death — I  wish,  with  you,  that  the  report  of 
my  disaster  had  proved  true  ! — they  are  so  safely 
concealed  in  the  secret  drawer  of  my  dear  mother's 
cabinet  that  they  will  never  be  found.  Threats  are 
useless  ;  I  do  not  love  life  enough  to  fear  them. 
You  have  ruined  it  ;  but  I  will  not  reproach  you. 
What  my  love  can  not  surrender,  your  covert 
threats  can  not  wrest  from  me.  I  may  die  sud- 
denly— " 

The  fragment  abruptly  ended  with  these  omin- 
ous words. 

"  This  is  very  suggestive,  Mr.  Newton,  and  very 
valuable.  Do  you  know  where  the  cabinet  is  to 
which  it  refers  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  old  man,  sadly. 

"We  will  pay  it  a  visit;  but  first  let  me  clearly 
understand  a  few  points.  As  I  understand  it,  the 
woman's  conduct  was  so  shameless  after  the  death 
of  the  people  who  had  adopted  her,  that  your  mas- 
ter refused  to  marry  her." 

"  She  refused  to  marry  him  ;  refused  his  repeated 
offers  ;  and  he  finally  tacitly  accepted  the  inevita- 
ble as  the  best.  I  fear  he  was  so  much  infatuated 
that  had  she,  at  any  time,  wished  to  entrap  him  into 
wedlock,  he  would  have  yielded  even  with  his  eyes 
opened,  as  they  were.  Fearing  this,  and  to  escape 
from  her  and  himself,  he  forced  himself  to  undergo 
a  year's  aimless  wanderings  in  his  yacht." 

"  Was  he  paying  for  her  support  all  this  time  ?  " 

"  She  owed  every  thing  to  him  till  she  left  the 


92  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

house  he  had  provided  for  her,  and  then  he  was 
compelled  to  withdraw  his  support." 

"  Did  she  ever  visit  Mr.  Geoffrey  Draper  at  his 
house  on  Myrtle  Avenue  ?  " 

"  Personally,  I  know  nothing  ;  but  I  have  heard 
— you  can  easily  find  people  who  will  verify  the 
statement — I  have  heard  that  she  frequently  vis- 
ited the  man,  and  that  letters,  which  she  was  par- 
ticularly anxious  to  receive  secretly,  were  directed 
to  her  in  the  care  of  Mr.  Draper." 

"  She  was  evidently  very  fond  of  him." 

"  It  may  have  been  love,  or  something  else.  At 
least,  he  was  very  attentive  to  her  and  she  to  him." 

"  Do  you  know  any  thing  of  his  antecedents  ?  " 

"  I  only  know  him  as  he  appeared  here.  He  was 
introduced  to  my  master  by  a  common  friend,  and 
he  was  received  as  a  friend  until  he  revealed  his 
true  nature.  He  is  without  conscience  ;  and  yet, 
if  he  was  the  best  of  men,  what  can  be  said  of  a 
young  woman  who,  alone,  entered  his  house 
at  night,  as  report  said  she  did  ?  A  vulgar 
gambler  ! " 

"  Ten  thousand  dollars  would  be  a  temptation 
there,  surely  !  "  said  the  detective  musingly.  "  You 
tell  me  that  when  you  went  down  to  the  city,  on 
the  evening  preceding  the  day  of  the  murder,  he 
had  the  money  ?  " 

"  I  saw  him  lock  it  in  the  drawer  of  the  desk  in 
the  library  ;  and,  at  my  request,  he  slept  in  this 
house  over  night  to  guard  it,  instead  of  going  else- 
where.    It  was  to  have  been  personally  carried  by 


WE  A  VING  HEMP.  93 

me,  on  my  return  next  day,  to  the  people  for  whom 
it  was  drawn." 

"  And  not  a  cent  of  it  can  be  discovered  !  "  said 
the  detective,  staring  at  the  pictures  opposite. 
"  He  was  not  her  enemy,  and,  as  I  thought,  she 
had  taken  advantage  of  his  bHnd  trust  in  her. 
Did  the  woman  know  he  was  staying  at  the  house  ?  " 

"  She  knew  he  was  in  the  village,  and  he  had 
written  to  her  that  he  would  meet  her  at  the  law- 
yer's office  on  the  next  day  ;  that  is,  the  day  of  his 
death.  But  Mr.  Terms,  the  lawyer,  can  give  you 
more  information  on  this  point  than  I  can.  He 
was  one  of  my  master's  trusted  friends." 

'*  What  became  of  the  maid  that  waited  on  the 
woman  ?  " 

"  Her  mistress  unceremoniously  discharged  her 
when  she  left  the  cottage  ;  and,  as  she  had  no 
friends  in  the  country,  my  master  paid  her  passage 
back  over  the  ocean,  that  she  might  return  to  her 
relatives.  He  was  thoughtful  and  noble  in  every 
thing." 

The  detective  consulted  his  note-book,  then 
asked  : 

"  Do  you  know  any  thing  of  a  young  woman 
called  May  Percy  ?" 

"  Nothing,  sir  !  " 

"  Have  you  ever  heard  of  the  name  ?  " 

"  I  have  heard  that  a  very  excellent  young  woman 
of  that  name  lived  in  the  village  ;  but  I  never  saw 
her.  Mr.  Terms  has  lived  here  all  his  life,  and  he 
can  give  you  information  on  that  point,   as  well 


94  W^O  IS  G UIL  TY? 

as  on  every  thing  else  connected  with  local 
history." 

"  Will  you  show  me  now  where  the  cabinet  is  ? " 

"  It  is  in  a  bed-room  that  has  not  been  opened 
since  its  angel  occupant  died.  The  door  was  kept 
locked,  and  my  master  trusted  no  one  but  himself 
with  the  key.  I  fear  we  shall  not  be  able  to  get 
in." 

"  Show  me  the  room  and  I  will  have  the  door 
forced  open  to-morrow." 

The  old  man  seized  the  light,  and,  followed  by 
the  detective,  passed  along  a  dreary  hall  that  dis- 
mally echoed  back  their  footsteps.  They  then 
descended  a  broad  flight  of  stairs. 

"  The  room  is  at  the  end  of  this  passage-way. 
The  door  is  too  heavy  for  us  to  force  without  tools." 

"  Let  me  see  it,  at  least." 

They  paused  before  a  massive  oak-door  hidden 
in  a  gloomy  angle. 

"We  shall  require  no  key,  Mr.  Newton,"  said 
the  detective,  with  an  oath.  "  Some  one  has 
been  here  before  us,  and  forced  an  entrance  into 
the  room.  See  !  the  lock  is  broken,  and  the  door 
yields  to  the  slightest  push  !  " 

"  I  am  dazed,  sir  !  " 

"  We  have  been  anticipated,  and  I  fear  our  best 
card  is  stolen  from  us.  You  must  reserve  your  dis- 
may and  surprise  for  another  occasion.  Please 
show  me  the  way." 

They  entered  a  huge  room  whose  atmosphere 
chilled  the  blood.     Nothing  was  visible  in  the  dim 


WE  A  VI NG  HEMP.  95 

light  but  the  salient  points  of  pieces  of  furniture. 
The  detective  stumbled  against  a  chair,  which  was 
massive  enough  to  bear  the  contact  without  mov- 
ing an  inch  from  its  place. 

"  The  cabmet  is  in  yonder  corner,  detective, 
between  the  two  windows." 

It  was  a  large  cabinet,  built  of  heavy,  black 
wood  and  richly  carved  with  figures  and  flowers  ; 
a  solid,  artistic,  serviceable  piece  of  work,  the 
art  of  making  which  our  century  seems  to 
have  lost.  Unfortunately,  a  vandal  hand  had 
marred  its  beauty  ;  a  panel  had  been  brutally 
smashed  in  one  of  the  doors,  and  an  ax, 
or  some  other  sharp  instrument,  had  chopped 
away  the  floor  of  the  little  closet  on  which  it 
opened. 

"  Was  the  secret  drawer  beneath  this  closet,  Mr. 
Newton  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir  !  " 

"  Then  I  was  right,"  said  the  detective,  after 
passing  his  hand  into  the  cavity  beneath.  "  The 
letters  have  been  stolen  !  " 

"  But  it  was  a  secret  drawer  only  known  to  my 
master,"  retorted  the  old  man,  with  superstitious 
horror. 

"  Your  memory  is  weak.  Is  it  not  possible  that 
his  adopted  sister  should  know  as  much  of  this 
cabinet  as  the  little  boy?  She  must  have  seen  it  a 
great  many  times." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  the  old  man,  in  a  whisper. 
"  As  children,  both  have  played  with  the  figures  on 


g6  WHO  IS  G UIL TV ? 

the  cabinet  and  hidden  their  toys  in  the  secret 
drawer  !  " 

"  The  same  hand  that  tore  the  tell-tale  leaves 
from  the  memorandum-book  stole  the  letters  ;  and 
its  owner  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  house 
and  the  habits  of  its  master.  The  robbery  is  more 
convincing  than  the  letters  would  have  been. 
Please  hand  me  the  candle  a  moment,  Mr.  New- 
ton." 

He  passed  the  light  into  the  little  closet  and 
studied  the  wood-work  with  deep  interest. 

"  There  is  blood  on  this  projecting  piece  of 
jagged  wood  !  "  he  exclaimed,  with  smiling  satis- 
faction. "  The  thief,  in  her  haste  to  reach  the  let- 
ters, has  scraped  her  hand  or  arm  against  the  sharp 
point.  She  has  given  us  some  evidence  in  return 
for  what  she  has  stolen,  and  I  shall  make  full  use 
of  it.  We  have  no  further  business  in  this  room 
to-night,  Mr.  Newton.  Let  us  return  to  the 
library." 

Once  more  sitting  before  the  desk  in  the  room 
where  the  crime  was  committed,  the  detective 
studied  the  candle-flame  for  some  time  in  silence, 
his  thoughts  busied  piecing  together  the  fragments 
of  evidence  he  had  gathered.  The  servant  sat  on 
the  lounge  a  short  distance  away,  outside  the  dim 
circle  of  light. 

"  The  robbery  is  a  bad  stroke  of  luck  for  me, 
Mr.  Newton,"  said  the  detective,  suddenly  break- 
ing the  silence.  "  Out  of  those  letters  I  should 
have  been  able  to  weave  the  rope  that  would  hang 


fV£A  VING  HEMP.  97 

your  master's  murderer.  We  do  not  even  know 
the  nature  of  their  contents." 

"  The  wretch  has  been  bolder  than  I  beUeved 
possible,"  sighed  the  old  man,  in  turn  rousing  him- 
self from  his  reverie  ;  "  and  all  scruples  have  van- 
ished. I  read  those  letters,  Detective  Sharpe, 
unknown  to  my  master,  but  in  his  interest." 

"  I  am  not  a  moralist,"  said  the  detective,  eagerly, 
"  and  I  am  so  grateful  to  your  curiosity  that  I  for- 
give your  former  reticence.  What  was  their 
nature  ? " 

"They  degraded  the  hand  that  wrote  them. 
Openly  confessed  her  shame." 

"  The  woman  had  fallen  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  the  first  letter  was  a  confession  of  her 
degradation,  and  plea  for  assistance.  The  woman 
humbled  herself  in  repentance  when  repentance 
was  too  late  to  save  her  honor.  I  know  my  master 
did  not  write  any  answers  to  these  letters,  and  when 
I  read  them  I  understood  the  agony,  shame  and 
grief  into  which  they  had  thrown  him.  Receiving 
no  answer,  the  woman  wrote  again,  and  again  ;  her 
cries  for  mercy  gradually  changed  into  threats  that, 
unless  her  demands  for  money  and  other  assistance 
were  complied  with,  she  would  accuse  her  noble, 
innocent  protector  of  being  the  cause  of  her  ruin, 
and  publicly  disgrace  him.  Fortunately,  the  first  let- 
ter completely  disproved  the  last,  and  I  suppose  this 
is  one  reason  why  my  master  refused  to  surrender 
them.  Any  other  man  than  Mr.  Addison  would 
have  allowed  the  vile  woman  to  rot  in  her  degrada- 


98  WHO  IS  GUILTY  ? 

tion  ;  he  did  nothing  more  cruel  than  to  send  her 
money  anonymously.  She  went  to  the  city  for  a 
short  time,  and  when  she  returned  she  was  all 
meekness  and  self-reproach.  She  wrote  a  number 
of  letters  asking  for  pardon  and  mercy,  and,  at  the 
time,  my  master  was  so  touched  by  them,  that  I 
was  compelled  to  use  force  to  prevent  him  rushing 
to  her  with  the  guilty  letters,  for  the  return  of 
which  she  earnestly  pleaded.  He  yielded  to  my 
arguments,  and  it  is  now  my  greatest  sorrow  that  1 
ever  uttered  them." 

"  You  have  a  theory  at  last,  Mr.  Newton  ?  "  said 
the  detective,  with  a  triumphant  smile. 

"  He  was  dealing  with  a  fiend  !  "  answered  the 
old  man  excitedly,  and  nervously  clutchmg  at  his 
white  hair.  "  She  was  winning  her  way  into  respect- 
ability again,  and  her  past  was  a  menace  to  her. 
She  needed  the  letters,  and  a  murder  was  com- 
mitted that  she  might  obtain  them.     Curse  her  !  " 

The  sudden  change  to  wild  passion  aston- 
ished the  detective,  and  he  dismissed  the  heart- 
broken servant  for  the  night. 

*'  Poor  devil,  it  has  used  him  up  !  "  he  reflected  as 
he  stretched  himself  on  the  lounge.  "  That  breed 
of  servants  has  long  since  died  out." 

He  suddenly  remembered  that  he  had  in  his 
pocket  three  letters — two  given  him  by  Mr.  Terms's 
clerk  and  one  which  he  had  purloined  from  Mr. 
Draper's  house.  He  had  determined  to  read  them, 
but  he  was  drowsy,  and  deferred  this  piece  of  ille- 
gality to  a  more  favorable   opportunity.     He   sank 


tP'EA  r/.VG  HEMP.  99 

into  a  condition  which  was  neither  sleep  nor  wake- 
fulness ;  consciousness  remained,  while  his  body  lost 
its  power  of  moving.  At  the  same  time  he  seemed 
to  hear  the  pattering  of  light  footsteps  and  the 
rustling  of  a  woman's  dress.  Was  he  dreaming  ? 
A  strange,  yet  familiar  odor  now  assailed  his 
nostrils  ;  yet  before  it  had  completely  conquered  his 
senses,  he  saw  through  his  drooping  eyelids  the 
outline  of  a  human  form.  The  face  was  above  and 
outside  the  line  of  vision,  and  he  had  not  the  power 
to  adjust  himself  so  as  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  it ;  but 
he  saw  the  attire  ;  a  creamy  mull,  ornamented  with 
knots  of  pale-blue  ribbon  ;  he  felt  a  warm  breath  on 
his  forehead,  and  hands  busied  with  the  pockets  of 
his  coat — and   then  he  sank  into  unconsciousness. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


A    LEGAL    OPINION. 


WHEN  Detective  Sharpe  opened  his  eyes  in  the 
morning,  he  felt  unaccountably  drowsy,  and 
when  he  rose  from  the  lounge  his  legs  were 
strangely  weak  in  the  joints.  He  stared  about  him 
in  a  vague,  perplexed  manner  ;  then,  remembering 
his  vision,  hastily  thrust  his  hand  in  the  breast 
pocket  of  his  coat.  The  mutilated  memorandum- 
book  and  the  three  unopened  letters  which  it  held 
had  disappeared.  Continuing  his  search,  he  dis- 
covered that  his  own  note-book,  in  which  he  had 
jotted  down  his  ideas,  suspicions  and  intentions 
concerning  the  murder,  had  also  vanished  !  His 
humiliation  was  greater  than  his  anger  ;  he,  the 
great  Detective  Sharpe,  had  been  openly  robbed  by 
the  very  people  whom  he  was  hunting  down.  They 
had  boldly  defied  him,  boldly  chloroformed  him,  and 
plunged  their  blood-stained  hands  into  his  pockets. 
Yes  !  and  the  tell-tale  blue  ribbon,  which  he  had 
found  on  the  hook  behind  the  curtain,  had  also  been 
stolen !  He  turned  his  pockets  inside  out,  and 
the  fact  was  undoubted. 

"  You  shall  swing  for  it  just  the  same,  my  dear," 
he  murmured,  with  a  vicious  grinding  of  the  teeth. 


A  LEGAL  0  PLY  I  OAT.  lOI 

"  Detective  Sharpe  is  not  to  be  despised  with 
impunity  !  " 

Performing  a  hasty  toilet,  for  the  hour  was  late, 
he  gave  some  orders  to  his  assistants  and  then  left 
the  house,  and  in  the  open  air  came  face  to  face 
with  Dr.  Dubois. 

"  Where  are  you  going,  Sharpe  ?  " 

"  To  pay  a  visit  to  Mr.  Terms." 

"  T'U  go  with  you,  in  place  of  Captain  Travers, 
whose  experiences  of  yesterday  have  sickened  him 
of  the  entire  business.  But  you  are  looking  pale, 
Sharpe." 

"  I'm  feeling  in  excellent  health,  and  I  know 
I'm  in  excellent  spirits." 

"  Every  thing  going  on  all  right  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  I'm  in  hopes  of  speedily  bringing  the 
business  to  a  happy  conclusion.  I  mean  happy 
for  me." 

"  It  will  add  immeasurably  to  your  brilliant  repu- 
tation, "  said  the  doctor,  seriously  as  to  face,  yet 
with  a  secret  enjoyment  of  his  own  wit. 

"  I  will  do  my  best,"  answered  the  detective,  with 
much  humility.  "  But  I  hope  the  illustrious  Mr. 
Terms  is  at  home  this  time." 

Mr.  Terms  was  in  his  office,  and  he  cordially 
welcomed  his  guests;  but  with  a  certain  distinction. 
He  bowed  respectfully  when  the  great  doctor's 
name  was  mentioned,  but  greeted  the  detective  with 
a  dignified  nod  of  the  head,  only  accepting  him  as  an 
object  whom  he  could  use  as  lay  figure — to  talk 
to,  poke  at  with  a  long,  bony  finger,  and   otherwise 


102  IVHO  IS  GUILTY ? 

for  his  own  exaltation.  He  leaned  back  in  his 
chair,  raised  his  spectacles  from  his  eyes  to  his 
forehead,  placed  the  fingers  of  his  hands  together 
over  his  shrunken  abdomen,  slowly  twirled  his 
thumbs  around,  and,  in  answer  to  a  question,  rushed 
at  once  into  conversation  that  threatened  to  be  a 
monologue. 

"  Did  I  know  the  lamented  deceased  ?  Who 
knew  him  better  ?  who  longer  ?  who  more  inti- 
mately ?  I  was  at  one  and  the  same  time  his 
legal  adviser  and  his  friend.  For  twenty 
long  years  I  have  known  him,  shared  his 
joys  and  sorrows,  and  guided  his  youthful 
inexperience  with  such  stores  of  wisdom  as  I 
possess  ! " 

"  And  his  disposition  ?  " 

"  Plastic,  sir,  and  amiable.  Ready  to  profit  by 
advice  and  to  respond  to  the  words  of  affect- 
ion." 

"  Gay  ? " 

"  Gay,  sir  ;  but  only  in  a  moral  sense,"  said  Mr. 
Terms,  with  dignified  asperity.  "  He  was  young, 
sir,  without  the  sins  of  youth  ;  human  clay,  if  you 
wish  it,  but  spotless  even  under  the  micros- 
cope." 

"  Then  his  love  for  his  adopted  sister " 

"  Was  his  first  and  only  love,  sir.  All  his  affec- 
tion centered  in  her,  and  when  she  left  him  she 
took  all  his  affection  with  her.  He  was  rich,  and 
many  young  women  aimed  the  shafts  of  love  at 
him  ;    but,  if  you   will   pardon  the  metaphor,  they 


A  LEGAL  OPIXIOy.  1 03 

never  hit  the  bull's  eye.  He  loved  once,  and  never 
loved  again." 

"  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  cause  which 
drove  the  lady  from  him  ?  " 

"  I  a/?i,  sir,  "  answered  Mr.  Terms,  severely  ; 
"  and  it  is  not  to  her  credit.  You  shall  hear,  Detect- 
ive Sharpe,  and  you  shall  judge  !  She  was  taken 
from  very  poor  people  when  she  was  a  mere  child, 
and  became  more  than  a  daughter  to  our  dead 
friend's  parents.  She  received  the  best  education 
and  the  best  care.  She  was  thus  cultivated  and 
thus  reared  with  the  especial  understanding  that, 
ultimately,  she  was  to  become  the  wife  of  our  dead 
client.  But,  sir,  when  she  had  budded  into  woman- 
hood, and  her  adopted  mother  had  been  added  to 
the  silent  majority,  and  she  presided  at  the  head 
of  the  table  as  the  only  surviving  specimen 
of  womanhood,  she  developed  traits  that  had 
hitherto  been  latent.  She  always  had  a  violent 
temper,  flying  into  spasms  of  rage  for  any  reason 
or  no  reason  at  all  ;  but  now,  sir,  she  grew  obsti- 
nate, spiteful,  self-willed,  vindictive.  In  place  of 
preserving  the  sweet  isolation  in  which  she  was 
brought  up,  she  insisted  on  mingling  with  the  giddy 
throng  ;  she  insisted  on  flirting  and,  as  /  think, 
helped  to  drive  her  adopted  father  to  his  grave.  Until 
two  years  ago  she  seemed  to  have  a  certain  respect 
for  the  proprieties  ;  but  then,  sir,  she  threw  off  all 
restraint,  and  this,  sir,  in  the  very  cottage  our 
revered  martyr  provided  for  her.  She  refused  to 
see  him,  and,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Terms,  meaningly,  and 


104  ^VHO  IS  GUILTY? 

with  terrible  emphasis,  "  she  saw  others  ;  and  the 
others  was  a  man  !  " 

"  I  am  carried  away  by  the  vivid  style  of  your 
narrative,"  said  the  detective;  "  but  before  I  forget, 
you  will  allow  me  to  ask  a  few  questions  ?" 

"  I  am  at  your  service.  Detective  Sharpe." 

"  When  the  woman's  adopted  parents  were  alive 
I  presume  she  acted  with  propriety  ?  " 

"  Not  in  the  way  I  would  have  my  daughter  act ; 
but  at  that  time,  if  she  were  guilty  of  indiscretions 
the  world  was  not  allowed  to  see  them." 

*'  According  to  the  best  of  your  knowledge,  she 
was  content  with  the  conditions  imposed  on  her?  " 

"  She  was  cunning,  sir  ;  for  it  was  an  especial 
clause  in  the  will  of  her  adopted  father  that,  unless 
she  married  his  son,  she  was  to  go  out  into  the 
world  with  only  enough  money  to  supply  her  abso- 
lute necessities." 

"  You  saw  the  will  ?  " 

"  I  held  it  in  my  possession  four  long  years,  and 
I  opened  it.  The  son  inherited  all  ;  the  woman 
nothing  !  " 

**  While  the  parents  were  alive  what  was  the 
relation  of  the  two  young  people  to  each  other  ?  " 

"  Ife  was  all  warmth  and  affection  ;  she  all  cold- 
ness. I  have  seen  him  place  his  arm  around  her 
waist  and  kiss  her,  and  I  have  seen  her  struggle 
against  this  very  natural  affection  with  signs  of 
horror  and  disgust  in  her  face.  Once,  sir,  I  unwit- 
tingly entered  a  room  wherein  the  young  couple 
were,  and  I  heard  her  threaten  to  kill  herself  if  he 


A  LEGAL  OPINLOM.  105 

continued  to  honor  her  with  his  love  !  The  word 
honor,  sir,  is  mine,  not  hers.  No,  sir,  she  never 
loved  him  ;  she  wanted  to  be  a  rich  man's  wife, 
that  was  all  !  " 

**  Now,  Mr.  Terms,  discarding  all  gossip,  I  would 
ask  you  what  you  personally  knoiv  of  the  woman's 
conduct  after  she  left  the  house  of  her  adopted 
parents  ? " 

"  Well,  sir,  I  know  that  a  man  named  Geoffrey 
Draper  visited  her  at  all  hours,  and  I  knoio  that  she 
visited  Geoffrey  Draper  at  all  hours.  It  was  vile, 
unpardonable,  wicked!"  said  Mr. Terms,  indignantly. 

"  Who  is  this  Mr.  Draper  ?  " 

"  A  nonentity  who  appeared  here  some  years  ago 
— I  think  it  was  the  same  year  in  which  our  hero's 
parents  died.  Where  he  came  from,  except  the 
slums  of  the  great  city,  I  don't  know  ;  but,  for  a 
time,  he  was  very  intimate  with  our  distinguished 
martyr.  He  is  a  plausible,  well-dressed  fellow,  and 
has  hired  a  house  here  ;  but  all  the  money  he  owns 
he  earned  at  the  gaming  table  or  borrowed  from 
his  friends  !  " 

"  Are  there  gambling  houses  here,  Air.  Terms  ?  " 
asked  the  doctor,  speaking  for  the  first  time. 

"  No,  sir  !  "  answered  Mr.  Terms  proudly. 
"  Cypressville  is  above  such  immorality  !  " 

"  Then,"  continued  the  doctor,  "this  man  Dra- 
per did  7iot  indulge  in  his  evil  propensities  here  ? " 

"  No,  sir  ;  he  played  an  evil  game  in  a  city  of 
evils." 

*'  Then,"  persisted  the  doctor,  "you  have  no  per- 


Io6  WHO  IS  G UIL  TY? 

sonal  knowledge  that  this  man  Draper  was  a  gam- 
bler?" 

"  It  is  not  likely  !  "  said  Mr.  Terms,  somewhat 
disconcerted.  "  But  every  body  knows  he  is  a  gam- 
bler, and  /  know  that  his  being  a  gambler  is  one  of 
the  causes  which  led  to  a  rupture  between  him  and 
my  murdered  friend  ;  for  this  fact  I  had  from  Mr. 
Addison's  own  lips  !  " 

"  It  is  very  strong  evidence,"  answered  the  doc- 
tor.   "  Forgive  my  questions." 

"  They  honor  me  !  " 

"  Once  more,  Mr.  Terms,"  said  the  detective. 
"  Was  the  final  rupture  due  to  the  woman  or  the  man 
now  dead  ?  " 

"  You  shall  hear,  gentlemen,  and  what  I  now 
repeat  I  had  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Addison  himself, 
and  he  was  above  exaggeration,  as  he  was  above  all 
other  faults  !  In  this  very  room  he  told  me  of  the 
shameful  actions  of  the  woman  with  strange  men." 

"  With  strange  men,  or  a  strange  man  ?  "  again 
asked  the  doctor. 

"  I  see  I  must  be  rigidly  scientific  in  my  language 
in  presence  of  a  scientist,"  said  Mr.  Terms.  "  To 
be  accurate,  then,  Mr.  Addison,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  complained  of  the  woman's  conduct  with  this 
Geoffrey  Draper.  He  told  me  he  had  spoken  to 
her  and  she  had  boldly  defied  him.  Later,  after 
she  had  closed  her  door  against  him,  he  came  to 
me  asking  my  advice.  The  woman,  sir,  had  the 
audacity  to  charge  him  with  being  the  cause  of 
what   resulted  from   her  own  shameless  conduct  ; 


A  LEGAL  OPINIO JV.  107 

in  other  words  she  was  using  her  own  disgrace  to 
levy  black-mail  against  an  innocent  man.  On  my 
advice  he  kept  all  the  letters,  while  refusing  to 
answer  any." 

"  Did  you  see  these  letters,  Mr.  Terms  ? " 

"  No,  but  my  friend  told  me  of  their  contents  ; 
and  if  immorality  and  black-mail  were  hanging 
matters,  the  letters  would  have  supplied  the  rope." 

"  Did  Mr.  Addison  ever  make  a  will  ?  " 

"  You  are  coming  to  the  vital  point  !  Some 
years  ago  he  did  make  a  will,  which  I  drew  up  for 
him.  That  will  is  now  in  my  possession,  unopened, 
as  when  he  delivered  it  to  me." 

"  What  was  its  nature  ?  " 

"  He  left  every  thing  he  possessed,  and  without  a 
restricting  clause,  to  the  woman  whom  he  expected 
to  become  his  wife." 

"  Did  he  never  alter  it  ?  " 

"  I  am  coming  to  that,  sir,  and  I  beg  all  your 
attention.  Time  and  time  again  I  begged  him,  in 
the  cause  of  justice  and  morality,  to  alter  the  will  ; 
but  with  a  sad  smile  he  always  put  it  off,  saying, 
that  if  he  should  die  his  kindness  would  be  the 
woman's  greatest  punishment.  He  was  infatuated 
with  her  to  the  end  !  Before  he  went  away  on  his 
long  yacht-voyage,  I  again  argued  with  him,  and  he 
laughingly  said  he  would  discuss  the  subject  when 
he  returned.  I  indignantly  urged  :  '  But  if  you 
die,  sir,  the  heartless  woman  will  inherit  every 
thing,  and  go  on  her  way  rejoicing.'  '  It  will  be 
a  test  of  heaven's  desire,'  he  answered.     *If  I  die, 


lo8  IV/IO  IS  GUILTY? 

I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  heaven's  intention  to  save 
her  in  that  way.  If  I  live,  I  will  take  it  as  a  sign 
that  heaven  wishes  to  punish  her,  and  I  will  alter 
the  will  !  '  " 

"  He  was  a  crank,  like  his  grandfather  !  "  was  the 
detective's  irreverent  comment. 

"  He  v/as  weak  when  he  should  have  been  strong. 
But  let  me  finish.  He  returned,  and  two  days  before 
he  was  murdered  he  came  to  me,  and  I  drew  up  a 
new  will  at  his  request,  in  which  he  gave  to  his 
'adopted  sister',  as  he  called  her,  only  enough 
money  to  bring  her  in  a  modest  income  ;  the  rest 
was  given  to  a  number  of  worthy  charities.  This 
new  will  was  to  have  been  signed  and  sealed  on  the 
very  day  he  was  murdered  !  " 

"  Of  course  the  woman  was  not  acquainted  with 
this  new  phase  in  her  destiny  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir,  she  was  !"  said  Mr.  Terms,  impressively. 
"  He  was  too  honorable  to  keep  her  in  ignorance. 
As  she  was  aware  of  the  provisions  of  the  first  will, 
he  deemed  it  his  duty  to  notify  her  of  the  change 
in  his  intentions,  or  rather,  to  be  accurate,  he 
deputed  me  to  write  to  her.  Here  is  a  copy  of  my 
letter." 

Without  pausing  in  his  speech,  Mr.  Terms  had 
opened  a  book,  and  was  ready  at  the  proper  time 
to  read  the  following  letter: 

"  Madam  : 

"  I  am  requested  by  my  client,  Mr.  Hugo  Addison, 
to  notify  you,  that  it  is  his  intention  to  modify  his 


A  LEGAL  OPIXION.  109 

will.  He  sacrifices  his  own  feelings  to  what  he  con- 
ceives to  be  his  duty.  He  intends  to  sign  this  new 
will  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  September,  and  he 
would  be  pleased  to  see  you  or  your  deputy  on,  or 
before,  the  morning  of  the  said  day  at  the  office  of 
the  undersigned,  that  no  injustice  may  be  done." 

"  That  was  the  letter,  but  the  new  will  was  never 
signed,  for  foul  murder  swept  him  into  the  grave, 
and  the  woman  still  inherits  all  his  wealth  and  pos- 
sessions. The  value  will  be  enormous,  too,  for  he 
speculated  lavishly." 

"  This  woman  is  Tsliss  Gower,  the  niece  of  your 
friend  ]\Iorris,"  said  the  detective,  gravely,  to  the 
doctor. 

"  I  hope,  detective,  that  you  appreciate  the  value 
of  my  communication,"  added  Mr.  Terms,  impres- 
sively, "  and  if  I  have  been  the  means  of  helping 
justice  and  moralit)-,  gentlemen,  I  shall  feel  more 
than  repaid  !  " 

*'  He  is  an  impressive  piece  of  parchment  !"  said 
the  doctor,  when  they  had  emerged  into  the  open 
air.  "  I  suppose  you  mean  to  arrest  Miss  Gower, 
now  ? " 

"  What  else  cati  I  do  ?  " 

**  You  have  reached  your  conclusion  quicker  than 
I  have.  But,  if  you  please,  let  me  ask  you  a  ques- 
tion, Sharpe.  Of  what  do  you  suppose  the  lamented 
hero  died  ! " 

"  Of  a  pistol-bullet  in  the  brain  !  " 

"  As  our  friend  Parchment  would  say,  if  a  false 


I  lO  IVHO  IS  G UIL  TY? 

conclusion  were  a  crime,  you  would  be  hung,  Sharpe. 
Your  supposition  is  entirely  wrong  !  Let  me  inform 
you  the  bullet  was  fired  in  the  man's  brain  after  he 
was  dead  !  " 

"  Are  you  sure  ? "  asked  the  detective,  with  uncon- 
cealed surprise. 

"  You  forget  who  is  delivering  a  judgment 
now  !  " 

"  Pardon  me  ;  but  the  announcement  is  so  unex- 
pected that  it  dazes  me  !  " 

"  It  is  nevertheless  true,  and  what  is  more, 
Sharpe,  is,  that  the  blood  which  was  under  the  dead 
man's  head  was  not  human  blood  !  The  parties  who 
committed  the  crime  were  very  anxious  to  have  it 
believed  that  he  died  from  a  pistol-shot — why,  I 
don't  pretend  to  know  ! — but  they  bungled  their 
work  outrageously." 

"  Of  what  then  ^/V  the  victim  die." 

"  I  can  not  answer,  and  that  is  why  I  have  not 
mentioned  the  subject  to  you  before,  although  I 
took  the  coroner  into  my  confidence.  I  believe  he 
was  poisoned,  and  acting  under  this  belief  I  have  sent 
portions  of  the  body  to  the  city  to  have  them  prop- 
erly analyzed." 

"  What  poison  do  you  suspect  ?  " 

"  I  can  not  say,  as  I  am  not  acquainted  with  the 
symptoms  in  life,  and  there  are  no  characteristic 
symptoms  after  death.  Probably  a  narcotic,  from 
the  absence  of  inflammation  or  erosions.  But  a 
poison  of  some  kind  surely.  If  Miss  Gower  is 
guilty,  she  must  have  forced  the  poison  down  her 


A  LEGAL  OPIXIO.V.  Ill 

victim's  throat,  and  then  killed  a  number  of  chickens 
and  used  their  blood,  after  shooting  her  victim  in 
the  head,  after  he  died  of  poison.  She  wanted  to 
make  sure  that  she  would  be  found  out !  " 

"  But  the  same  objections  may  be  urged  by  the 
murderer,  whoever  he  or  she  maybe." 

*'  You  are  not  clear-witted  this  morning,  Sharpe. 
Go  back  a  few  steps  ;  recall  the  blood  on  the  ivy,  the 
blood  on  the  handkerchief,  and,  especially,  the  pistol 
with  the  initials  on  it,  and  the  chamber  discharged  of 
a  bullet,  which  was  not  the  bullet  discovered  in  the 
dead  man's  bra  '.n.  What  is  the  conclusion  of  common 
sense  ?  " 

"  What  I  have  always  maintained  ;  that  is,  that 
the  guilty  party  is  trying  to  force  the  crime  on 
another,  with  whom  she  was  once  intimate." 

**  That  is  clumsy.  Suppose,  how,  that  there  was  a 
third  party,  who  knowing  the  past  history  of  the 
dead  man  and  living  woman  thoroughly,  committed 
the  crime.  Suppose,  also,  that  our  G.  D.  was 
deliberately  seized  on  as  a  pointer  to  fasten  the 
crime  on  a  woman  who  was  innocent  of  it.  Suppose 
the  third  party  argued  somewhat  in  this  way:  *  I  will 
throw  G.  D's.  blood-stained  handkerchief  in  the 
ivy  ;  his  pistol  in  the  well.  The  clever  detectives 
will  discover  these  objects,  and  they  will  imme- 
diately know  that  a  man  committing  a  crime  will 
not  leave  such  evidence  behind  him.  The  detectives 
will  say,  some  one  is  trying  to  fasten  the  crime  on 
an  innocent  man,  and  they  will  infallibly  be  guided 
to  the  woman.     She  will  receive  all  the  attention, 


1 1 2  IVIIO  IS  G UIL  TY? 

while  I  dance  in  security  in  the  background.  She  is 
innocent  ;  but  her  past  history,  related  by  the 
exaggerated  tongue  of  scandal,  will  condemn  her 
past  all  hope  of  saving  !  '  It  is  not  my 
business  to  find  out  who  this  third  party  is.  I 
only  wish  to  show  you  that  your  theory  is  not 
necessarily  the  right  one,  and  to  ask  you  to  be 
careful  before  you  affix  an  indelible  brand  on  a 
woman  who,  in  my  belief,  is  more  sinned  against 
than  sinning  !  " 

**  Your  theory  comes  in  most  opportunely,"  said 
the  detective,  after  a  thoughtful  pause,  "  and  I 
promise  yoii  that  I  will  not  be  hasty  in  arresting  the 
suspected  party." 

"  If  I  am  right,  Detective  Sharpe,  all  the  evidence 
that  may  be  hastily  gathered  will  point  toward  the 
woman  whom  you  suspect.  If  she  is  guilty,  she 
deserves  her  fate  ;  but  sweep  the  ground 
thoroughly  before  you  strike.  In  the  meantime, 
I  give  you  my  personal  guarantee  that  the  woman 
shall  remain  in  her  present  abode  until  such 
time  as  you  are  fully  satisfied  of  her  guilt  or 
innocence." 

"  Your  assurance  relieves  me  of  a  great  anxiety, 
and  I  will  spare  until  the  last  moment.  Only  I  must 
do  my  duty  ;  I  must  examine  her  room " 

*'  I  will  help  you  by  taking  you  to  her  house.  She 
is  probably  absent,  for  I  have  given  orders  that 
she  pass  the  day  in  the  open  air.  I  will  not  intro- 
duce you  as  a  detective,  for  the  reason  that  she  must 
not  be  degraded  at  the  present  time  ;  but  I  will  give 


A  LEGAL  OPINIOy.  113 

you  ample  opportunity  to  make  a  thorough 
search." 

"  I  can  ask  nothing  more  !  " 

"  But  my  liberality  will  not  end  there.  Keep 
your  eyes  and  ears  open  and  you  will  discover  the 
beginning  of  the  path  I  have  cut  out  for  myself. 
When  you  have  reached  the  end  after  me,  I  shall 
expect  your  thanks  for  having  prevented  you  from 
adding  fresh  griefs  to  the  grief-burdened  life  of  a 
misjudged  woman." 

"  You  speak  positively  !  " 

"  And  you  know  that  I  never  speak  lightly.  All 
I  ask  is,  that  you  will  exercise  your  cunning, 
skill  and  experience.  A  false  step  on  your  part 
would  probably  make  me  a  companion  victim  to 
the  murdered  man.  You  look  incredulous  ?  Wait 
to  the  end  before  you  deliver  your  judgment.  I 
give  you  my  word,  Sharpe,  that  if  it  were  not  that 
I  feel  my  honor  engaged  in  the  business,  I  would 
leave  you  here  and  rush  off  to  the  city  never  to 
return  to  this  place  again  !  " 

"  I  meekly  admit,  doctor,  that  you  surprise  me. 
But  notwithstanding  your  doubts,  I  am  proud  to 
believe  that  you  will  find  in  me  a  valuable  aid.  I 
must  satisfy  myself  as  to  the  suspected  woman, 
whom,  I  frankly  confess,  you  have  not  entirely 
cleared  in  my  eyes  ;  but  I  assure  you  that  no 
wrong  shall  come  to  her  through  me,  until 
I  have  first  given  you  my  reasons  and  my  intention." 

"  I  repeat  your  words  in  saying  that  I  ask  nothing 
better  !    This  is  the   house  ;  you  are   a  friend  of 


1 1 4  U'JIO  IS  G UIL TY? 

mine  from  the  city.  That  is  all  that  is  necessary  ; 
the  rest  you  may  leave  to  me." 

The  doctor  had  whispered  this  caution  before 
the  front  door  of  Woodbine  Villa,  the  bell  of  which 
he  now  rang.  As  he  expected,  the  smiling  Miss 
Percy  appeared  in  answer  to  the  summons. 

"  Is  Mr.  Morris  in  ?  I  have  met  an  old  friend 
from  the  city  whom  I  am  anxious  to  introduce  to 
him." 

"  He  is  not  at  home,  doctor.  He  is  out  with 
Miss  Gower  in  the  carriage." 

"  Has  she  recovered  her  senses  yet  ?  " 

"  I  fear  not !  "  was  the  sad  answer. 

"  If  he  should  return  please  notify  me.  Come, 
Frank,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  detective,  "  I  am  at 
home  in  the  house  of  my  old  friend,  and  we  will 
have  a  smoke  and  a  lounge  in  my  own  room." 
He  loitered  behind  his  friend  to  whisper  to  Miss 
Percy. 

"  I  will  meet  you,  my  dear,  in  a  few  minutes  on 
the  veranda." 

She  nodded  and  covertly  squeezed  the  doctor's 
hand,  then  vanished  into  a  neighboring  room. 

The  doctor  rejoined  his  friend  and  both  ascended 
the  stairs.  At  the  top  of  the  first  flight,  the  doctor 
pointed  significantly  with  his  finger  toward  a  cer- 
tain door,  and  continuing  his  journey,  entered  a 
room  on  the  floor  above. 

"  Stand  at  this  window,  Sharpe,  and  when  you 
see  me  conversing  with  the  woman  who  opened 
the    door,    commence  your  investigations    in  the 


A   LEGAL    OFIJVION.  115 

room  indicated.  No  one  is  home,  and  you  will  not  be 
interrupted.  When  you  have  finished,  meet  me  on 
the  veranda." 

Miss  Percy  was  waiting  for  the  doctor,  and  on 
his  appearance  rushed  to  him  with  a  pout. 

"  I  thought  you  would  never  come  !  " 

"  You  are  impatient,  my  dear  ;  I  have  not  been 
in  my  room  above  ten  minutes.  I  decoyed  my 
friend  into  taking  oflf  his  boots,  I  forced  him  into 
an  easy  chair,  gave  him  a  cigar  and  unceremoni- 
ously left  him  ? " 

''  Who  is  he  ?"  she  asked,  boldly. 

"  A  good  enough  fellow  in  his  way  ;  but  with  an 
unfortunate  habit  of  saving  hotel  expenses  by 
thrusting  himself  on  his  friends.  He  has  been 
here  a  week,  and  discovering  that  I  was  in  the  same 
village,  seized  me  as  a  means  of  extending  his 
acquaintance.  I  would  not  have  brought  him  here 
if  I  knew  Mr.  Morris  were  at  home,  and  I  intend 
to  get  rid  of  him  before  Mr.  Morris  returns.  Have 
you  copied  my  report  ?" 

"  In  my  best  hand  !  " 

"  You  are  an  angel.  But  can  we  not  take  a  little 
walk  under  the  trees?" 

Miss  Percy  consented,  and  having  put  on  her 
hat  the  cunning  doctor  led  her  away  from  the 
house.  Under  the  shadow  of  the  trees  the  cunning 
doctor  became  very  communicative.  He  saddened 
the  woman  by  informing  her  that  he  must  soon 
return  to  the  city  to  attend  to  his  professional 
duties  and  then  to  his  domestic  affairs.     He  was 


1 1 6  WHO  IS  G UlL TY? 

an  old  bachelor,  and  his  house  was  at  the  mercy  of 
careless  servants.  He  was  very  rich,  and  it  was  a 
temptation.  Ah  !  if  he  only  had  a  young,  energetic 
and  trustworthy  housekeeper  !  If  he  could  obtain 
the  right  one,  she  should  receive  a  large  salary  and 
a  future  of  ease  and  comfort  be  assured  her. 

After  a  certain  hesitation,  the  blushing  Miss 
Percy  delicately  hinted  that  she  would  not  be 
averse  to  accept  the  position  herself.  She  had  no 
friends  and  no  claims  on  her,  and  her  obligations 
to  Miss  Gower  would  end  in  two  weeks  and  she  be 
free. 

The  cunning  doctor,  having  stimulated  the 
woman's  ambition,  now  cooled  it  by  announcing 
that  he  would  think  over  the  matter,  and  at  the 
earliest  opportunity  give  her  the  result  of  his 
matured  thoughts.  Miss  Percy  acquiesced  in  the 
inevitable  with  a  sigh,  and  there  was  a  short  silence 
broken  by  the  woman  saying  : 

"  The  happy  future  opened  to  me  makes  me  for- 
get my  present  duties.  You  told  me  that  in  her 
narcotic  condition,  Miss  Gower  might  do  some 
mischief.  Consequently,  I  have  been  unusually 
watchful,  and  I  discovered  this  pistol  under  the 
mattr^s  of  her  bed." 

She  handed  him  a  small  revolver  mounted  in  silver. 

"  You  ^re  a  treasure  in  every  way  !  "  was  his 
enthusiastic  comment,  as  he  took  the  pistol,  "  and 
if  I  can  only  persuade  myself  that  it  will  be  for  your 
good —  But,  see,  I  have  forgotten  my  friend,  and  he 
has  grown  impatient  and  come  for  me.    Slip  into  the 


A  LEGAL  OP IX  10. V.  IT7 

house,  get  me  your  copy  of  the  report,  and  I  will 
post  it,  get  rid  of  the  bore,  and  return  here  as  quickly 
as  possible." 

Miss  Percy  smiled,  entered  the  house,  but  soon 
reappeared  with  a  long,  sealed  envelope,  which  she 
delivered  to  the  doctor.  She  watched  the  t.wo  men 
disappear  in  the  distance  with  a  thoughtful,  resolute 
expression  on  her  handsome  face. 

"  If  I  could  only  believe  him  !  He  is  vain  and 
foolish,  and  the  thought  is  a  horror  !  From  house- 
keeper to  wife  !  I  have  conquered  greater  difficul- 
ties, and  he  is  my  slave  already.  If  I  could  only 
believe  him,  the  bad,  evil-minded  man  !  " 


CHAPTER  X. 


A     NEW      ARRIVAL. 


'I'^HE  doctor  and  the  detective,  in  the  meanwhile, 
1       were    engaged    in  an  animated  conversation 

"  Did  you  discover  any  thing  in  the  room, 
Sharpe  ? " 

"  Yes  ;  I  found  the  mull  dress,  and  from  the 
ashes  in  the  grate  I  raked  out  a  few  scraps  of  the 
papers  that  were  stolen  from  me." 

''  She  was  foolish  not  to  burn  them  to  the  last 
fragment  !  "  said  the  doctor,  meaningly,  "  But  I 
suppose  she  left  those  scraps  to  make  sure  that 
you  would  find  them  !  " 

"  I  guess  this  is  the  weapon,  at  last !  "  said  the 
detective,  taking  the  silver-mounted  revolver  which 
the  doctor  had  drawn  from  his  pocket. 

"  Yes  ;  and  you  will  notice  that  one  of  the 
chambers  is  discharged.  It  is  another  piece  of 
foolishness  on  the  part  of  the  woman  you  suspect." 

"  Miss  Percy  found  it  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  under  the  mattress,  and  innocently 
brought  it  to  me  to  take  care  of." 

"  She  is  a  tall,  graceful  woman,  doctor  !  " 

"About  the  same    height  and  build  as  her  mis- 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  119 

tress,"  answered  the  doctor,  carelessly,  but  with  a 
malicious  sparkle  in  his  gray  eyes. 

"A  resolute  woman,"  said  the  detective,  thought- 
fully. 

"  My  prize,  Sharpe !  She  has  consented  to 
become  my  housekeeper,  and  I'll  wager  she  is 
dreaming  at  this  moment  of  an  infatuated  old  dotard, 
and  the  ease  with  which  she  can  make  him  her 
husband,  or  eat  into  his  fortune  by  the  noble  trick 
of  black-mail  !  The  darling  !  She  is  greatly 
interested  in  poisons,  and  I  allowed  her  to  copy  a 
make-believe  report  !  " 

"  I  will  pay  her  my  attentions  by  and  by.  Just 
now  I  am  going  to  Geoffrey  Draper's  house.  Will 
you  come  ? " 

"  No,  thank  you,  I  must  leave  you  here  and 
return  home." 

The  doctor  parted  from  the  detective  with  a 
perplexed,  troubled  countenance  ;  his  shaggy  brows 
were  knitted,  his  lips  compressed.  Even  his  analytic 
intellect  was  troubled. 

He  lighted  a  cigar,  and  with  the  first  puff  of 
smoke  his  face  brightened. 

"  It  is  worth  while  to  give  these  over-praised 
detectives  a  lesson.  Sharpe  is  an  average  specimen 
of  the  best,  and  a  pretty  muddle  I  prevented  him 
from  producing.  I  could  give  them  all  points  !  " 
he  thought,  warmed  by  the  stimulating  glow  of 
egoism.  "  I  suppose  the  woman-detective  for  whom 
I  have  written  is  equally  stupid.  She  ought  to  be 
here  to-day,  and  at  a  glance  I  can  read  her  quali- 


120  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

ties.  It  was  lucky  for  them  all  that  Doctor  Dubois 
was  enjoying  a  vacation  in  Cypressville  !  " 

These  and  similar  thoughts  removed  the  last 
shadow  from  the  doctor's  face,  and  he  reached 
Woodbine  Villa  in  excellent  spirits. 

Mr.  Morris  had  returned  ;  but  Miss  Gower  had 
remained  drowsy  and  silent  during  the  journey. 

She  was  now  in  her  room,  reclining  on  a  couch, 
attended  by  the  devoted  Miss  Percy.  The  maid 
was  bright,  smiling  and  attractive  ;  the  mistress 
dull,  passive,  preternaturally  pale.  She  lay  with 
her  bright,  glassy,  staring  eyes  directed  to  the  ceil- 
ing ;  her  lips  were  dry  ;  but  a  clammy  perspiration 
oozed  from  her  forehead,  and  moistened  the  soft 
hair  that  clung  to  it.  Notwithstanding  his  brave 
assurances,  the  doctor  was  anxious,  and  he  sat  down 
beside  the  half-conscious  woman  with  a  heavy 
heart,  although  he  had  forced  a  smile  to  his  face. 

''  She  is  wearied  by  the  long  ride,  doctor,"  said 
Miss  Percy,  with  a  pitying  glance  toward  the  invalid. 

"  I  fear  so,  my  dear,"  he  answered,  absently,  "  and 
I  also  fear  that  she  has  been  too  cunning  for  us, 
and  taken  another  dose  of  the  vile  drug." 

"  She  has  not  been  out  of  my  sight  since  she 
returned." 

"  Even  under  your  Argus-eyes,  my  dear,  it  was 
easy  enough  for  her  to  swallow  a  pill  or  two,  and 
you  not  be  the  wiser." 

"  Can  they  make  laudanum  up  in  pills  ?  "  she 
asked,  in  mild  surprise. 

"You  are  not  wise  in  these  matters,  ]\Iiss  Percy, 


J  NEll^  A RRl  VAL.  1 2  1 

and  it  is  not  to  be  expected  you  should  be.  Laud- 
anum is  opium  in  a  liquid  condition,  dissolved  in 
alcohol ;  in  its  solid  form  it  can  be  readily  made  into 
pills.  Then,  again,  as  morphine,  it  can  be  injected 
under  the  skin." 

"  But  it  must  hurt  one  terribly  to  use  it  in  that 
way,  doctor  !  The  very  idea  sets  my  teeth  on  edge  !  " 

"  The  pain  is  trifling,  and  when  people  are  infat- 
uated, like  this  wretched  woman,  they  do  not  con- 
sider It.  But  we  can  easily  learn  if  she  has  changed 
the  mode  of  taking  it."  While  speaking  he  had 
rolled  back  the  loose  sleeve  of  his  patient's  robe, 
and  he  now  gazed  at  the  white,  faultless  arm  with  a 
sad  expression  on  his  face. 

"  The  mark  is  here,  my  dear,  to  condemn  her  ! 
To  gain  speedy  forgetfulness,  she  has  used  the 
hypodermic  syringe,  and  this  little  puffed  up  spot 
indicates  the  point  where  the  syringe  was  pushed 
under  the  skin  !  " 

Miss  Percy  studied  the  spot  with  much  interest. 
"  She  is  incorrigible,  doctor  ;  but  how  was  I  to 
know  in  my  ignorance  ?  I  never  heard  of  the  thing 
before." 

"  Of  course  not !  "  said  the  doctor,  kindly.  "  But 
her  cunning  is  only  foolishness  this  time.  In  her 
haste  she  has  forgotten  me  !  Another  day  of  this 
work  will  kill  her  !  " 

The  doctor  gazed  down  at  the  pale,  sunken  face, 
and  was  so  deeply  absorbed  in  his  thoughts  that, 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  paid  no  attention  to 
the  dinner-bell. 


1 2  2  WHO  IS  G  uiL  T  yy 

"  Dinner  is  ready,"  suggested  the  thoughtful 
Miss  Percy. 

"  And  I  am  not  dressed.  But  wasn't  it  the  door- 
bell ?  There,  listen,  it  is  ringing  again." 

There  could  be  no  doubt  of  it.  The  door-bell 
was  rung  vigorously,  and  then  there  were  the 
sounds  of  voices  in  the  hall  ;  especially  the  loud, 
laughing  voice  of  a  woman. 

*'  It  is  some  visitor,  doctor  !  " 

This  was  the  undoubted  truth,  and  a  few  minutes 
later,  Mr.  Morris  himself  appeared  to  announce 
the  fact. 

**  Doctor,  one  of  Miss  Gower's  friends  has,  unan- 
nounced, come  here  to  see  her." 

"  She  can  not  be  seen,"  said  the  doctor,  with 
affected  anger.     "  Send  her  about  her  business  !  " 

"  But  she  has  brought  her  trunk,"  answered  Mr. 
Morris,  helplessly,  "  and  she  means  to  stay." 

'*  And  you  needn't  put  yourself  out  the  least  bit 
on  my  account  !  "  said  a  voice  in  the  hall.  "  I 
couldn't  resist  calling  on  my  dear  Oriana  !  " 

A  very  stylish  young  lady  unceremoniously 
entered  the  room,  with  much  rustling  of  silks,  and 
elaborate  sparkle  of  jewelry.  A  handsome  young 
lady,  self-possessed  and  graceful,  with  remarkably 
bright,  piercing  black  eyes.  Mr.  Morris  introduced 
the  intruder  with  dismal  formality. 

"  Doctor  Dubois,  allow  me  to  introduce  you  to 
Miss  Churchill  ;  Miss  Churchill,   Doctor  Dubois." 

"  And  is  this  the  dear  man  whom  I  have  heard  so 
much  about,"  she  exclaimed,  with  shrill  volubility. 


A    XEIV  ARRIVAL.  123 

"  Doctor,  I  am  delighted  to  become  acquainted  with 
you.  My  friend,  Mrs.  Pope,  is  never  done  speak- 
ing about  you,  and  I  have  been  really  dying  to  see 
you  !  And  this  young  lady  ?  "  she  continued,  turn- 
ing to  Miss  Percy  with  a  smile.  "  A  relation  of 
yours,  Mr.  Morris  ? " 

"  No  ;    Miss  Percy,  the  maid  of  Miss  Gower." 

"  How  very  stupid  I  am,  to  be  sure  !  Quite  ridic- 
ulous !  I  am  ashamed  of  myself  !  Excuse  me. 
But  really,  you  mustn't  put  on  ceremonies  with  me. 
I  saw,  as  I  came  by,  that  the  dinner  was  on  the 
table.  I  have  dined,  and  I  couldn't  touch  another 
mouthful  !  I  shall  feel  perfectly  at  home  here, 
and  I  hope  you  won't  let  the  soup  get  cold  on  my 
account  ?  when  dear  Oriana  wakes  she  will  show  me 
my  room,  and  we  shall  get  on  lovely  !  " 

Mr.  Morris  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and,  as  he 
turned  to  leave  with  the  doctor,  beckoned  to  Miss 
Percy. 

"  She  acts  already  as  if  she  owns  the  house," 
said  the  doctor,  **  and  if  she  does  not  talk  us  all 
to  death  we  are  lucky  !  " 

"  What  can  I  do,  Dubois  ?  She  is  an  old  friend. 
I  told  her  Miss  Gower  was  ill,  but  I  could  not  send 
her  back  to  her  home  three  hundred  miles  away  ! 
May  I  ask  you,  Miss  Percy,  to  have  the  blue-room 
made  ready  for  the  bold  invader  ?  I  am  sorry  to 
trouble  you  ;  but  she  came  so  unexpectedly  that 
she  has  put  me  at  my  wit's  end." 

"  There  is  no  trouble,  Mr.  Morris,"  answered 
Miss  Percy,  graciously  ;   "  a  little  dusting  and  a 


124  iVHO    IS  GUILTY? 

little  arranging  and  all  is  ready.  Pardon  me  if  I 
suggest  that  the  dinner  is  getting  cold,  while  the 
young  lady  seems  fully  able  to  take  care  of  her- 
self." 

"  Miss  Percy  speaks  like  an  angel  !  "  said  the 
doctor.  "  I  am  hungry,  Morris,  too  hungry  to  change 
my  attire  ;  and  the  wordy  young  lady  is  fully  able 
to  take  care  of  herself." 

The  young  lady  in  question  vindicated  these 
encomiums  ;  for  when  Mr.  Morris  visited  her  after 
dinner  he  discovered  that  she  had  changed  her 
traveling  attire  for  a  gorgeous  full  evening  dress, 
and  she  was  sitting  in  her  friend's  room  in  smiling 
content,  amusing  herself  by  turning  over  the  pages 
of  a  fashion-book. 

The  doctor  had  gone  in  search  of  Miss  Percy, 
who,  he  discovered,  had  betaken  herself  to  her  own 
apartment.  He  sent  a  message,  which  brought  her 
to  the  library,  with  a  frown  on  her  fair  face. 

"  You  are  out  of  humor,  my  dear  ?  " 

"  Miss  Churchill  would  provoke  a  saint !  She 
takes  me  for  a  servant,  and  amused  herself  with 
ordering  me  about,  until  I  gave  her  to  understand 
my  true  position." 

"  Mr.  Morris  tells  me  that  she  is  the  daughter  of 
a  farmer  who  suddenly  became  rich.  She  is  anxious 
to  dazzle  an  old  friend  with  her  gorgeous  attire,  and 
her  knowledge  of  the  world  picked  up  in  a  few 
months'  travel  in  Europe.  I  gave  you  credit  for 
more  discernment,  my  dear.  She  is  only  one  of  the 
vulgar  rich,  not  worth  a  sensible  woman's  anger  !  " 


A   NE  W  A  RKI VAL.  125 

"  She  is  very  aggravating  !  " 

"  She  is  very  rich,  and  that,  in  the  eyes  of 
most  people,  would  excuse  her." 

"  She  asked  me  if  my  mistress  had  not  taken  just 
a  little  too  much  champagne,  as  it  always  affected 
her  in  that  way  !  " 

"  And  most  of  her  life  she  has  drank  nothing  but 
cider  and  weak  elderberry  wine  !  She  will  become 
tired  of  this  quiet  little  place  before  the  week  is 
out." 

"  Not  more  tired  than  I  am.  It  is  a  dull,  tire- 
some hole  ! " 

"  The  shoddy  woman  has  put  you  out  of  humor 
with  it." 

"  I  hated  it  from  the  first.  I  shall  leave  it  when 
my  quarter's  services  are  ended,"  she  said,  de- 
terminedly. 

*'  You  have  positively  decided  ?  " 

"  Positively,  sir  !  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to 
follow  you,  even  if  you  change  yours." 

"Am  I  so  fickle  ?" 

*'  You  are  a  man,  and  you  will  forget  me  when 
you  have  turned  your  back  on  the  village." 

"  Never  !  "  he  answered  seriously. 

"  You  only  look  on  me  as  a  higher  species  of 
servant,"  she  persisted. 

"  Ah,  my  dear,  and  can  you  read  my  heart  ?  " 

"  I  know  my  own  ! "  she  said,  sadly,  "  and  I 
know  that  having  sunk  to  the  degradation  of  a 
servant,  I  can  never  again  rise  to  the  station  in 
which  I  was  born  !  " 


126  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  If  I  did  not  know  better,  my  dear,  I  should 
say  that  you  are  in  love  ? " 

"  Is  it  a  crime  ?" 

"  No  ;  a  merit  in  a  pretty  young  woman  like  you! 
An  old  man  like  me  can  only  look  on  and  sigh  with 
envy." 

"  You  are  no^  old,"  she  said,  impetuously,  "  and 
if  you  were,  what  has  love  to  do  with  such  matters? 
You  are  wise  and  you  are  good,  while  the  young  of 
your  sex  are  foolish  and  wicked." 

"  You  flatter  me,  my  dear  !  " 

"  If  you  knew  me  better  you  would  not  say  so." 

"  You  are  very  amiable,  child  !  " 

"  Child  !  "  she  repeated  hotly,  "  I  am  a  woman  ; 
free  to  do  as  I  like  ;  to  love  where  I  will  ;  to  offer 
my  life,  my  soul,  to  him  I  love.  Oh,  if  you  were 
less  wise  and  more  human  !  You  can  never  have 
loved  !  " 

The  situation  was  becoming  dangerous  and  yet 
very  attractive  !  The  doctor  was  exercising  his 
diplomacy,  and  his  gallantry  at  the  same  time. 
Unfortunately  he  did  not  hear  the  approaching 
footsteps  in  the  hall,  while  Miss  Percy's  .senses  were 
sharper  than  his  own. 

"  You  will  teach  me,  my  dear  !  "  he  said, 
while  putting  a  fatherly  arm  around  her 
waist. 

He  drew  her  toward  him,  and,  intensely  amused 
by  his  own  cunning,  kissed  her  on  the  forehead. 
It  was  fine  gallantry,  and  the  tableau  was  charm- 
ing ;  but  it  surprised  Mr.  Morris,  who  stood  at  the 


A    NEW  ARRIVAL.  1 27 

doorway,  and  announced  his  presence  with  a  dis- 
creet little  cough. 

At  the  sound  Miss  Percy  flushed  a  deep  crimson, 
rose,  put  her  hands  to  her  face,  and  rushed  out  of 
the  room  ;  the  doctor,  a  picture  of  confusion,  rest- 
ing motionless  on  the  lounge. 

"  You  are  coming  it  strong  in  your  old  age, 
Dubois  !  "  said  Mr.  Morris,  with  a  chuckle. 

"  She  is  a  little  fiend  !  "  answered  the  doctor, 
drawing  a  long  breath.  '■'■  Willing  to  compromise 
herself  to  get  me  in  her  power  !  " 

"  She  is  a  mighty  pretty  maiden,  Dubois  ;  may  I 
congratulate  you  on  your  conquest  ?  " 

"  If  you  knew  all,  Morris,  you  would  be  more 
serious  ;  and  if  Miss  Churchill  does  not  relieve  me 
soon,  I  will  strangle  the  little  devil  with  my  own 
hands." 

Miss  Churchill  was  seemingly  more  intent  on 
making  herself  at  home  than  in  troubling  herself 
with  the  doctor's  affairs.  She  insolently  ordered 
Miss  Percy  from  the  sick  woman's  room,  express- 
ing the  intention  of  attending  herself  on  her  friend. 
She  closed  the  door  after  the  indignant  maid  and 
locked  it,  shrieking  through  the  key-hole  that  she 
"  didn't  want  any  poke-noses  around  !  " 

This  done,  she  seated  herself  near  the  table, 
reading  from  a  book  of  poetry.  From  time  to 
time  she  consulted  her  watch  ;  at  a  certain  hour 
she  rose  and  approached  the  bed  on  which  her 
wretched  friend  tossed  and  moaned  in  a  semi- 
conscious  state.     She    opened   a  little   hand-bag, 


128  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

took  from  it  a  bottle  and  a  spoon,  and  poured  a 
spoonful  of  the  bottle's  contents  down  her  friend's 
throat.  Pausing  a  moment,  and  with  her  intelli- 
gent eyes  carefully  watching  the  result,  she  re- 
peated the  dose.  The  restlessness  of  the  patient 
was  stilled,  and  she  sunk  into  a  placid  sleep.  A 
condition  of  things  that  had  not  obtained  for  many 
days. 

Miss  Churchill  again  returned  to  her  book  of 
poetry.  Near  midnight  she  dropped  into  what 
seemed  to  be  a  deep  sleep,  and  snored  with  a  vigor 
that  told  well  for  her  health.  Before  plunging 
into  unconsciousness  she  had,  with  rustic  caution, 
turned  off  the  gas,  and  the  room  was  in  shadow, 
save  for  a  few  arrows  of  moonlight  that  struggled 
through  the  half-closed  blinds. 

Had  she  been  awake,  she  would  have  heard  the 
rustling  of  a  woman's  dress  in  the  hall  without,  and 
a  light  hand  turning  the  handle  of  the  door.  But 
Miss  Churchill  slept  like  a  farmer's  daughter,  and 
her  unromantic  snoring  maintained  its  rhythm  with 
the  regularity  of  a  piece  of  classic  poetry. 

A  hand,  or  an  instrument,  was  now  busied  with  the 
key  outside  ;  there  was  a  sharp,  metallic  click,  and 
the  door  itself  was  softly  opened,  and  a  pair  of 
bright  eyes  glanced  into  the  room.  The  bed  was 
in  shadow,  but  a  ray  of  moonlight  fell  on  the 
lounge  and  revealed  a  woman's  form  stretched  out 
at  full  length. 

The  door  opened  wider,  and  a  figure  glided 
silently   into  the  room,    paused    a    moment    near 


A  NEW  ARRIVAL.  1 29 

the  lounge,  and  then,  with  noiseless  feet,  ap- 
proached the  bed  and  leaned  over  it.  At  the  same 
instant  there  was  a  flash  of  brilliant  light  as  from 
an  electric  arc,  a  dazzling  light  that  blazed  in  the 
intruder's  face,  and  caused  her  to  start  back  with  a 
little  shriek.  She  turned  instinctively  toward  the 
lounge,  but  the  figure  on  it  still  lay  motionless, 
snoring  with  classic  regularity.  The  light-flash 
was  only  momentary  ;  it  blazed  up  and  then  ex- 
pired, leaving  the  room  in  its  original  gloom. 

The  intruder  stood  for  a  moment  the  victim  of 
fear  and  perplexity  ;  her  heart  beat  violently,  and 
there  was  a  tremor  in  the  usually  firm  lips  and 
hands.  She  did  not  again  approach  the  bed,  but 
retired  from  the  room  with  the  same  noiselessness 
with  which  she  entered  it.  When  the  door  closed 
behind  her,  Miss  Churchill  ceased  snoring  and 
quickly  rose  from  the  lounge.  In  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time  she  had  cast  aside  her  outer 
silken  garment,  beneath  which  was  a  simple  dress 
of  an  inconspicuous  color  and  fashion.  She  now 
seized  a  bonnet,  to  which  a  wig  was  attached,  and 
pulled  it  down  over  her  soft  black  hair,  arranging 
her  toilet  in  the  dark  as  skillfully  as  if  she  were 
standing  before  a  mirror  in  a  full  blaze  of  light. 
She  then  opened  the  door  and  peered  anxiously  out 
into  the  hall.  As  if  in  answer  to  some  mysterious 
summons,  the  doctor,  in  shoeless  feet,  entered  the 
room. 

"  I  have  given  her  the  medicine,  doctor,"  said 
Miss  Churchill,  in  a  whisper,  "  and  she  is  sleeping 


I30  WHO  IS  GUILTY  ? 

well.  Your  electric  light  was  also  a  success  ;  in 
all  probability  it  saved  a  life.  Wait  my  return 
here  !  " 

She  left  the  room,  glided  down  the  stairs,  passed 
through  a  window  that  she  opened  in  the  library, 
and  crouched  in  the  shadow  of  the  veranda,  near 
the  front  door.  Strange  as  the  house  must  have 
been  to  her,  she  never  hesitated  in  her  actions,  but 
moved  about  as  if  she  had  lived  in  the  building 
since  childhood  and  knew  every  one  of  its  angles. 
But  even  her  haste  indicated  deliberation  and  fore- 
thought ;  astonishing  qualities  in  a  farmer's 
daughter  and  a  woman  of  fashion  !  She  crouched 
in  the  darkness  as  if  the  part  of  spy  were  the  busi- 
ness of  her  life.  Her  patience  was  as  remarkable 
as  her  calmness ;  she  remained  for  a  long  time  as 
motionless  as  a  statue,  and  when  the  door  opened 
not  even  a  sigh  of  relief  escaped  her.  After  an 
interval,  she  followed  the  figure  that  had  cautiously 
made  its  exit  from  the  house,  and  which  was  now 
speeding  along  in  the  shadow  of  the  bushes  ;  the 
figure  of  a  woman,  running,  rather  than  walking,  as 
if  goaded  onward  by  her  own  troubled  thoughts. 
Her  road  led  her  in  the  direction  of  the  old  house 
in  which  the  murder  was  committed,  and  she  never 
paused  in  her  journey  until  she  reached  its  bound- 
ary walls.  Here  her  footsteps  stopped,  and  she 
glanced  up  at  the  gloomy  building  that  seemed 
floating  in  an  ocean  of  mist  !  The  pursuing  Miss 
Churchill  also  paused,  with  eyes  directed  toward 
the  cupola,  from  which  issued   a  light,    the    only 


A   NEW  ARRIVAL.  131 

evidence  of  life  in  the  dreary  building.  The  light 
flashed,  disappeared,  flashed  again  and  then  myster- 
iously vanished.  The  figure  standing  in  the  moon- 
light paused  irresolutely,  and  uttered  an  exclama- 
tion of  disappointment.  It  then  turned  its  back  on 
the  house  and  for  a  short  distance  retraced  its 
steps.  It  rested  for  a  moment  beneath  a  huge  tree 
that  overhung  the  roadside,  and  its  hands  seemed 
gliding  over  the  gnarled,  scaly  trunk.  It  came  out 
into  the  light  again  bearing  a  paper  in  its  hand, 
which  it  opened  and  read  in  the  moon's  rays.  It 
tore  a  fragment  from  the  paper,  seemingly  wrote 
on  it  with  a  pencil,  after  which  it  returned  to  the 
tree.  When  it  again  reappeared,  it  continued  its 
journey  uninterruptedly  to  the  house  from  which  it 
had  emerged.  Miss  Churchill  followed  until 
the  door  of  Woodbine  Villa  closed  behind  it,  when 
she  retraced  her  steps  in  the  direction  of  the  mys- 
terious old  tree.  The  distance  she  had  to  walk  was 
over  a  half-mile,  and  the  object  she  sought  was 
surrounded  by  hundreds  of  similar  companions,  but 
she  walked  toward  it  in  a  bee-line,  never  hesitat- 
ing, never  pausing,  never  swerving  from  the  straight 
line.  Reaching  the  tree,  she,  in  turn,  ran  her  hands 
lightly  over  the  trunk  ;  but  she  discovered  nothing  ; 
no  suggestive  projection,  no  cavity,  nothing  indicat- 
ing the  trysting  place  of  lovers,  or  of  knaves.  Per- 
plexed, yet  with  energy  unabated,  she  renewed  her 
search.  Higher  up  the  trunk,  just  within  reach  of 
her  outstretched  arm,  the  branches  diverged,  and  in 
the  angle  thus  formed  there  was  an  old  bird's-nest 


132  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

of  the  last  year.  Miss  Churchill  was  interested  in 
this  object,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  dry  grass,  and 
mud  and  feathers,  her  exploring  hand  discovered  a 
scrap  of  paper.  This  she  eagerly  seized,  and,  thanks 
to  the  bright  moonlight,  mastered  a  portion  of  its 
contents.  On  one  side,  written  in  a  woman's  hand- 
writing, were  the  words  :  "  -Danger !  Spies  ! 
Must  see  you  !  To-morro7v  noon  !  "  On  the  other 
were  a  few  disjointed  words  written  by  a  man.  It  was 
the  fragment  of  a  short  note,  and  was  meaningless 
in  its   present   condition.     Miss  Churchill's  sharp 

eyes    deciphered  the  words  :  "  /<?   i/ie  end ivith 

my  life  ! — double  the  price  ! — desert  and  hang  !  " 

After  much  hesitation.  Miss  Churchill  restored 
the  paper  to  the  strange  retreat  from  which  she 
had  abstracted  it.  Before  retiring  she  again  glanced 
toward  the  old  house.  To  her  astonishment,  the 
light  was  flashing  from  the  cupola  with  steady, 
uninterrupted  brightness.  No  !  it  appeared  and 
vanished  in  the  old  way  !  Three  flashes,  then  dark- 
ness !  five  flashes,  then  darkness  ;  one  flash,  then 
darkness,  and  so  on,  with  a  certain  regularity  in 
its  irregularity.  It  was  evidently  a  series  of  sig- 
nals or  of  words  ;  but  to  whom  ?  Was  the  cupola 
of  Woodbine  Villa  within  sight  of  the  cupola  yonder  ? 
Miss  Churchill  could  ask,  but  she  could  not  ans\\»cr, 
the  question.  From  her  position  on  the  ground 
she  saw  nothing  but  the  tree-tops  tossed  about  m 
the  chill  night  wind.  But  even  while  speculating, 
the  light  vanished  and  did  not  reappear.  She 
waited  with  praiseworthy    patience,  but  an  hour 


A   NEIV  ARRIVAL.  I33 

passed  and  the  mysterious  signals  were  not  repeated. 
For  the  present,  at  least,  patience  was  not  to  bring 
its  reward.  Miss  Churchill,  however,  bore  her  dis- 
appointment with  uncomplaining  philosophy,  and 
retraced  her  steps  toward  the  house  in  which  she 
was  a  temporary  guest.  Reaching  the  grounds 
which  surrounded  the  villa,  she  instinctively  glanced 
upward  toward  the  roof  of  the  house.  There  was 
no  light  in  the  cupola  that  rested  in  shadowy 
darkness  against  the  moonlighted  sky. 


A 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A    LECTURE    AND    A     SURPRISE, 

MOONLIGHT  night  had  dissolved  into  a 
cheerless  morning  ;  a  cold,  drizzling  rain 
poured  down  from  a  gray  mist  above  into  a  brown 
mist  below.  The  view  even  from  the  windows  of 
Woodbine  Villa  was  not  cheerful  ;  it  gave  Miss 
Percy  the  blues,  and,  ordinarily,  she  was  a  young 
woman  of  great  elasticity  of  nature,  and  with  an 
abundance  of  happy,  animal  vitality.  In  the  early 
dawn  she  had  drawn  aside  the  curtain  from  before 
one  of  her  bed-room  windows,  expecting  to  find 
cheerfulness  in  a  flood  of  warm  sunlight,  only  to  dis- 
cover the  clouds  weeping  grimy  tears  on  the  windows, 
with  a  wearisome  rhythm  that  suggested  a  funeral 
march.  The  trunks  of  the  fruit-trees  had  turned 
from  a  silver  gray  to  a  flaring  brown,  and  the 
shrill  wind  tore  off  their  spotted  leaves  and  spotted 
fruit  with  deserved  contempt.  The  lawns  were 
converted  into  little  lakes,  and  the  roadways  into 
bogs.  Over  yonder,  a  diseased  branch  of  a  pear 
tree  had  been  twisted  from  the  healthier  living 
tissue,  and  it  hung  by  the  bark  only,  swaying  to 
and  fro  like  a  human  body  held  in  a  hempen  rope  ! 
The  flower-beds  had  lost  their  attractiveness,  sug- 


A  LECTURE  AND  A    SUKFUISE.  135 

gesting  a  grave-yard  rather  than  a  pleasure  ground. 
A  most  wretched  day,  surely  ;  the  soaked  ground 
littered  with  withered  leaves,  the  rain  drearily 
pattering  against  the  window-panes,  and  the  wind 
shrieking  its  mockery  in  unexpected  spasms. 

And  the  looking-glass  brought  no  better  conso- 
lation. The  Miss  Percy  reflected  in  it  had  no  color 
in  her  usually  rosy  cheeks  ;  her  eyes  were  heavy  and 
dull,  and  her  general  appearance  listless  and 
moody.  A  little  dab  of  rouge  on  either  cheek,  a 
judicious  touch  of  chalk  here  and  there,  improved 
matters  ;  but  it  could  not  be  denied  that  Miss 
Percy  was  under  the  influence  of  the  weather,  and, 
in  addition,  looked  as  if  she  had  passed  a  sleep- 
less and  wretched  night. 

She  devoted  unusual  time  and  care  to  her  toilet  ; 
her  hair  was  arranged  in  its  most  becoming  manner, 
and  the  white  rose  with  a  faint  flush  of  red  was  a 
charming  contrast  to  its  raven  blackness.  As  if  to 
defy  the  chill,  damp  weather,  she  wore  a  white  dress 
of  some  thin  material,  through  which  the  warm  flesh 
of  her  arms  and  shoulders  could  be  faintly  seen. 
A  white  rose  nestled  at  her  throat,  held  in  its  place 
by  a  curiously-carved  silver  breast-pin. 

This  labor  of  love  finished,  she  studied  herself  in 
the  mirror  with  critical  severity.  She  admitted 
that  the  costume  was  somewhat  unseasonable  ;  but, 
at  the  same  time,  conscientiously  granted  that  it 
was  very  attractive. 

As  neither  vanity  nor  criticism  could  suggest  any 
thing  further,  she    again    approached    the  window. 


136  WHO    IS  GUILTY? 

and  wearied  herself  with  the  dull  landscape.  To 
her  left,  a  recently  added  extension  of  the  house 
interfered  with  her  view  ;  but  she  seemed  to  find 
more  interest  in  the  work  of  the  builder  than  in  the 
works  of  nature,  especially  in  a  window  that  was 
almost  diagonally  opposite,  and  on  a  lower  level 
than  her  own.  She  watched  this  window  with  great 
interest,  and  when  its  curtain  was  withdrawn,  and 
a  ruddy-faced  man  in  a  dressing-gown  stared  out 
into  the  rain,  she  tapped  on  the  window-pane  and 
kissed  her  hand.  The  ruddy-faced  man  nodded, 
smiled,  and  opened  his  window. 

Miss  Percy  left  her  room,  passed  through  the 
narrow  hallway,  and,  descending  a  few  steps, 
traversed  another  hall,  and  finally  stopped  before  a 
door,  on  which  she  lightly  tapped.  The  door  was 
opened,  and  the  ruddy  face  and  little  figure  of  the 
doctor  were  revealed. 

"  I  want  to  speak  with  you  very  seriously,  doctor  ! 
May  I  come  in  ?  " 

"  Let  us  go  down  to  the  sitting-room." 
"  I  do  not  wish  to  be  seen  or  interrupted." 
"  It  is  still  early,  my  child,   and   we  have    a  full 
hour  before  the    indolent  people  here  make  their 
appearance." 

"  We  were  disturbed  yesterday,"  she  said,  hesitat- 
ingly, and  with  shrinking  modesty,  "  and  I  have  felt 
humiliated  ever  since.  Not  for  myself,"  she 
added,  with  a  happy,  retrospective  smile,  "  but  for 
you.  It  shall  not  happen  again.  I  am  very  sorry — 
also  for  you  !  " 


A   LECTURE  AND  A  SURPRISE.  137 

Despite  his  embarrassed  resistance,  she  had 
entered  the  room,  leaving  the  door  open,  and  she 
now  approached  him  and  placed  a  pleading  hand 
on  his  arm. 

Unfortunately,  a  sleepy  eyed  maid-servant  passed 
along  the  hall  at  this  moment,  and,  after  staring 
into  the  room,  tripped  hastily  down  the  stairs,  with 
a  look  of  horror  and  amazement  on  her  face. 

Fortunately,  the  affectionate  Miss  Percy  was 
ignorant  of  this  little  incident,  her  back  being  turned 
to  the  door  ;  but  the  doctor  was  less  lucky,  and 
what  he  saw  brought  the  perspiration  to  his  fore- 
head. 

"  You  should  be  more  discreet,"  he  said,  sup- 
pressing his  anger  with  an  effort.  "  One  of  the  serv- 
ants has  seen  you  in  my  room,-  and  this  little  busi- 
ness will  be  the  talk  of  the  house  !  " 

"  If  I  am  satisfied,  sir,  have  you  any  right  to 
complain  ?  "  she  asked,  with  charming  audacity. 
"  I  wish  to  tell  you,  my  good  adviser,  something 
about  that  horrible  Miss  Churchill.  I  believe  she 
drinks  !  " 

"  I  hope  not." 

"  You  shall  hear.  She  ordered  me  out  of  the 
room  ;  played  the  part  of  maid  to  Miss  Gower  in  a 
very  bungling  manner,  and,  if  you  will  forgive  my 
boldness,  acted  in  a  very  coarse,  unladylike  way. 
I  was  worried  and  could  not  sleep  until  I  had 
assured  myself  of  your  patient's  comfort.  About 
twelve  o'clock  I  tapped  on  the  door.  No  one 
answered  me,  and  all  I  heard  was  a  very  vigorous 


13^  IVHO  IS  GUILTY? 

snore  from  Miss  Churchill,  and  moans  from  the 
neglected  Miss  Gower.  I  forced  my  way  into 
the  room  ;  the  gas  was  turned  off,  but  Miss  Gower 
was  groaning  as  if  in  great  pain,  and  her  friend 
was  sleeping  on  the  lounge.  The  foolish  woman 
believes  that  all  the  people  here  are  bent  on 
ruining  her  friend,  physically  and  morally,  and 
before  going  to  sleep  had  surrounded  her  with 
electric  wires.  At  any  rate,  when  I  touched  her 
an  electric  light  flared  up  at  the  head  of  the  bed, 
and  sent  my  heart  into  my  throat.  I  was  never 
before  so  startled  in  my  life  !  " 

"  It's  a  wonder  our  rustic  friend  did  not  sur- 
round herself  with  the  same  safeguard  !  " 

"  I  am  not  concerned  with  the  foolishness,  sir  ; 
but  I  will  not  share  the  responsibility  with  that 
woman.  If  you  wish  to  engage  me  I  am  content ; 
but  in  any  case  I  will  not  remain  here." 

"  Are  you  serious  ?  "  asked  the  doctor,  with  unaf- 
fected surprise. 

"  Make  the  offer  to  take  me  to  the  city  by  the 
next  train,  and  test  me.  I  am  utterly  indifferent 
to  the  opinions  of  the  world.  Take  me  away  from 
this  place  and  its  degradations." 

There  could  be  no  doubt  of  Miss  Percy's  earn- 
estness, and  it  took  away  the  doctor's  breath  and 
robbed  his  scientific  theory  of  the  crime  of  the 
larger  amount  of  its  value. 

*'  I  cannot  leave  Miss  Gower  in  her  illness,"  he 
said,  after  a  pause,  "  and  I  shall  not  7-un  away  from 
you   and  your  trust.     You    must    have    patience. 


A   LECTURE  AND  A    SURPRISE.  139 

Keep  away  from  Miss  Gower,  and  leave  her  in  the 
charge  of  her  ridiculous  friend.  I  will  think  what 
is  best  to  be  done." 

"  Is  it  )'Our  wish  that  I  should  remain  ? " 

"  Yes,  my  child,  for  the  present,  at  least." 

"  1  will  db^y  you,"  she  said,  restraining  a  strong 
inclination  to  laugh  in  his  face.  "  I  will  try  and  be 
patient  and  obedient  for  your  sake.  Forgive  me 
for  taking  up  so  much  of  your  valuable  time,  and 
think  of  me  as  a  wretched  woman,  who  would  accept 
torture  if  it  would  add  to  your  happiness." 

She  smiled  at  him — a  sad,  wan  smile — waved 
her  hand,  and  left  him  to  his  perplexities. 

He  was  unusually  quiet  at  breakfast,  and  unusu- 
ally surprised  after  breakfast.  Captain  Travers 
had  retired  to  smoke  his  cigar  in  the  open  air,  in 
defiance  of  the  rain,  and  the  doctor  was  about  to 
follow  his  example,  when  Mr.  Morris  said  : 

"  One  moment,  Dubois  ;  I  am  in  the  mood  to 
give  you  a  lecture." 

"  That  will  be  original,  Morris,  and    amusing." 

**  It  seems  to  me,  Dubois,  that  we  are  all  a  party 
of  originals.  But  let  us  come  to  the  point :  what 
are  you  doing  to  Miss  Percy  ?" 

"  Doing  ?  "  asked  the  doctor,  in  surprise. 

"  Yes,  doing  !  I  heard  the  servants  talking  about 
seeing  her  in  your  bed-room  this  morning.  I  ain't 
a  grim  moralist,  as  you  know;  but  isn't  it  coming  it 
just  a  trifle  strong  ?  It  isn't  fair,  Dubois,  because 
you  think  that  the  young  lady  is  a  guilty  wretch, 
that    you    should    take   advantage    of   her  trust 


14<^  WHO  /S  GUILTVP 

in  you,  by  robbing  her  of  her  character.  Hang 
me,  if  you  are  even  discreet  in  the  business  !  " 

"  You  are  surely  joking  !  "  gasped  the  doctor. 

"  It  is  confoundedly  funny,  and  when  I  first 
heard  of  it  I  laughed  myself  into  a  species  of  apo- 
plectic fit.  But  coming  down  to  sober  facts,  it  isn't  a 
thing  to  be  proud  of.  If  science  has  these  privi- 
leges, I  intend  to  become  a  doctor  at  the  earliest 
opportunity." 

*'  You  are  perversely  ignorant,"  said  the  doctor, 
angrily.  "  Do  you  know  what  I  have  saved  your 
niece  from  ?  " 

"  Poison  ? " 

"  No,  jail !  She  is  suspected  of  having  murdered 
the  man  Addison.  Sharpe  would  have  arrested  her 
but  for  me." 

"  And  Sharpe  is  an  idiot  !  "  retorted  Mr.  Morris, 
indignantly.  "  I'm  not  prejudiced  in  Oriana's  favor, 
but  I'd  sooner  believe  /perpetrated  the  crime  than 
she.  You're  a  theorist,  Dubois,  and  recently  you  have 
honored  me  with  some  very  profound  disquisitions 
on  hypodermic  injections,  guilty  maids,  and  your 
own  virtues.  I've  got  a  theory,  too,  and  that  is,  the 
young  woman  Percy  is  deeply  smitten  with  your 
beauty,  and  that  if  she  drugged  my  niece  she 
drugged  her  out  of  jealousy.  She  has  shown  a 
great  deal  of  attention  to  you,  you  must  admit." 

"  I  can  not  deny  it,  but " 

"  Put  it  to  the  test.  If,  as  you  suspect,  the  little 
maid  is  connected  with  the  murder,  and  if  her 
safety  depends,  as  you  again  suspect,  on  narcotizing 


A   LECTURE  AND  A    SURPRISE.  \^\ 

or  killing  my  niece,  she  will  cling  to  her  place  here 
with  a  desperation  proportionate  to  her  danger.  If 
she  is  only  acting  from  jealousy,  she  will  willingly 
leave,  provided  you  bear  her  company.  Make  her 
the  offer  and  test  her." 

"  It  is  needless,"  said  the  doctor,  with  a  troubled 
face.     "  She  has  already  consented  to  go  with  me." 

"  Poor  little  thing  !  And  you  play  with  her  the 
part  of  Zoilus  and  Sardanapalus  at  the  same  time  ; 
and  at  your  age,  too  !  " 

"  I  deny  your  insinuation,"  said  the  doctor,  hotly. 
"  I  am  guiltless  of  even  the  intention  of  wrong. 
You  would  do  better  to  defend  the  relation  rather 
than  the  stranger." 

**  I  have  greater  respect  for  the  stranger  ! " 
answered  Mr.  Morris,  with  unruffled  calmness.  "  I 
have  the  honor  of  being  related  to  Oriana's  family; 
I  keep  up  with  them  an  occasional  correspondence, 
though  I  have  not  seen  any  of  them  since  I  left 
England  a  boy,  now  some  thirty  years  ago.  I 
receive  a  letter,  within  comparatively  recent  times, 
in  which  I  am  begged  to  look  after  a  young  lady 
who  was  born  after  I  left  the  country  of  my  birth, 
and  whom,  consequently,  I  have  never  seen.  I  am 
told  that  the  people  who  have  adopted  her  are  dead. 
Honored  with  these  meager  facts,  I  am  directed  to 
go  to  Cypressville  and  look  her  up.  I  purchase  a 
house  in  the  village  at  the  same  time,  and  I  deter- 
mine, quietly,  to  examine  matters  on  my  own 
account.  I  find  the  young  lady  has  quarreled  with 
the  young  man  to  whom  she  was  engaged — I  don't 


142  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

admire  her,  but  killing  him  is  out  of  the  question  ! 
— I  find  that  she  is  in  very  questionable  relations 
with  another  man.  Is  she  guilty?  It  is  none  of 
my  business  to  inquire;  in  fact,  I  prefer  to  remain  in 
ignorance  on  that  point.  I  go  to  her,  tell  her  I  am 
her  relation,  and  invite  her  to  live  in  my  house.  I 
tell  her  that,  if  she  accepts  my  offer,  she  must  break 
off  all  her  village  friendships  ;  that  she  will  be  well 
cared  for,  receive  somethmg  on  my  death,  but  must 
not  expect  a  gushing  devotion  which  I  do  not  feel. 
I  tell  her  I  am  willing  to  bury  her  past  life,  whatever 
it  may  have  been,  and  ask  no  questions.  I  tell 
her  she  must  begin  a  new  life,  and  that  I  will  remain 
a  placid  uncle  as  long  as  she  behaves  herself.  She 
flashes  up  indignantly  ;  I  turn  on  my  heel,  and  tell 
her  I  will  call  for  the  answer  on  the  morrow.  I 
call,  and  she  becomes  a  member  of  my  household. 
Had  I  been  more  curious,  or  less  eccentric — " 

"Say  indifferent !  "  interrupted  the  doctor. 

"  I  accept  the  amendment !  Had  I  been  less 
indifferent,  Miss  Gower  might  have  had  a  less 
pleasant  home.  But  I  have  received  her  without 
comment,  and  if  she  has  not  kept  to  the  strict  letter 
of  her  promise,  she  has  again  to  thank  my  indiffer- 
ence that  she  has  not  been  turned  into  the  streets. 
That  is  my  relationship  with  my  very  charming  rel- 
ative. If  she  is  innocent  of  all  wrong,  so  much  the 
better  for  her  ;  if  she  has  forgotten  herself,  so  much 
the  worse  ;  but,  in  either  case,  I  am  profoundly 
ignorant.  That  she  would  commit  a  murder  under 
any  circumstances,  I  would  not  believe  if  the  entire 


A   LECTURE  AND  A   SURPRISE.  143 

world  swore  to  it  ;  and  to  defend  her  from  the  vile 
charge  I  would  spend  my  money  to  the  last  copper. 
As  to  the  rest,  I  am  silent !  " 

"  And  yet  you  allow  Captain  Travers  to  fall  in 
love  with  her,  and  perhaps  marry  her  !  " 

"  I  am  not  Captain  Travers's  guardian  !  If  he  is 
foolish  enough  to  marry,  he  must  take  the  jump 
blindly,  like  the  rest  of  his  sex.  I  know  nothing, 
and  I  do  not  intend  to  play  the  part  of  spy  for  the 
very  amiable  captain.  If  he  wants  my  niece,  he  is 
welcome  to  her  ;  if  he  is  in  a  critical  mood,  he  must 
use  the  microscope  himself.  If  he  does  not  marry 
her,  she  remains  here,  and  the  world  goes  on  just 
the  same." 

*'  But  surely  you  do  not  think — "  began  the  doc- 
tor. 

"  Pardon  me,  Dubois,  I  don't  think  any  thing, 
except  the  one  thing  you  are  trying  to  sneak  away 
from.  You  have  cunningly  dragged  me  away  from 
the  subject,  and  it  is  like  your  scientific  hypocrisy. 
My  nerves  are  not  high-strung,  but,  even  looking  at 
the  worst  side,  /  could  not  treacherously  win  the 
affections  and  receive  the  kisses  of  a  woman  whom 
I  meant  to  fling  on  the  gallows." 

"  You  describe  the  case  too  coarsely." 

"  That's  the  gist  of  it,  and  fine  words  won't  alter 
it.  The  girl  Percy  has  no  reason,  except  love,  for 
humbling  herself  before  you.  She  warms  your 
slippers  ;  she  goes  in  the  kitchen  to  cook  you  deli- 
cacies ;  she  places  little  bouquets  in  your  room. 
You   are  a    wretch,    Dubois !      But   the  sermon's 


144  IVHO  IS  GUILTY? 

ended,  and  I  leave  you  to  digest  it  at  your  leis- 
ure !  " 

Like  all  good  sermons,  only  a  portion  of  it  was 
digested — that  portion  which  agreed  with  the  hear- 
er's prejudices  and  vanity.  The  doctor  admitted 
to  himself  that  the  maid  might  do  worse  than  fall 
in  love  with  him  ;  but  that  his  theory  was  wrong  ! 

The  appearance  of  Miss  Churchill,  in  a  wonder- 
ful morning-robe,  recalled  him  to  the  hard,  prosaic 
world  again.  He  exchanged  a  formal  bow  with 
her  ;  but  it  was  not  until  her  late  breakfast  had 
been  served,  and  the  servant  dismissed,  that  he  ven- 
tured to  speak  to  her. 

"  How  is  our  patient  ?  " 

"  Weak,  but,  1  think,  rational." 

"■  Has  she  spoken  yet  ?  " 

"  A  few  words  ;  but  before  the  morning  is  over  I 
think  she  will  be  able  to  tell  all  you  wish  to  know — 
that  is,  if  you  do  not  wish  to  know  too  much. 
Tonics  and  change  of  scene  will  do  the  rest." 

'*  Is  she  aware  of  the  nature  of  her  illness  ? " 

"  I  think  she  has  lost  all  idea  of  time.  She  talks 
of  croquet,  and  of  a  Captain  Travers,  whom  she  is 
very  anxious  to  see." 

"  Did  you  leave  her  alone  ? " 

"  No  ;  a  servant  is  with  her,  arranging  the  room. 
I  have  left  orders  that  she  shall  remain  there  until 
my  return.  Now,  in  turn,  doctor,  let  me  ask,  do 
you  think  that  opium  was  the  only  drug  used  ? " 

"  I  am  strongly  of  the  belief.  Miss  Churchill,  that 
it  was  used  only  as  a  mask  for  something  more 


A  LECTURE  AND  A    SURPRISE.  US 

hurtful,  if  that  is  possible.  The  attempt  was  on  the 
brain,  to  fill  it  with  fancies  that  would  help  the 
plotters  in  their  diabolical  scheme.  She  was  to  have 
seen  frightful  visions,  and  her  wild  horror  at  the  fan- 
cies was  to  have  impressed  others  as  remorse  for  a 
murderous  crime." 

"  Diabolical,  doctor,  surely  ;  but  she  is  saved 
from  that  wretchedness,  at  least  !  " 

"  My  task  has  not  been  easy.  Miss  Churchill,  to 
conceal  my  own  suspicions  and  to  do  justice  to  our 
patient  at  the  same  time.  Her  nervous  system  is 
at  a  very  low  point  of  vitality,  and  I  hope  you  will 
remember  this.  Any  sudden  shock  may  not  only 
interfere  with  the  course  of  justice,  but  hopelessly 
ruin  our  patient's  constitution.  For  the  present, 
news  from  the  outside  world  must  be  carefully  kept 
away  from  her.  At  least,  until  we  can  offer  surety 
instead  of  doubt." 

"  I  am  persuaded,  doctor,  that  in  a  few  days 
surety  will  be  reached.  I  have  no  doubt — what  is 
that  ?  "  she  asked,  suddenly  starting  to  her  feet. 

A  wild,  shrill  shriek,  repeated  again  and  again — a 
shriek  that  drove  the  color  from  the  doctor's  face, 
and  thrilled  the  nerves  of  even  the  unimpressionable 
Miss  Churchill  1 

The  doctor  expressed  the  idea  of  both  in  his 
startled  exclamation  : 

"  Miss  Gower  !  " 

He  rushed  up-stairs  closely  followed  by  the  woman. 

There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
wild  cry  ;  it  was  repeated  in  their  presence  by  the 


146  WHO   IS  GUILTY? 

figure  tossing  about  on  the  bed,  with  its  hands 
clutching  at  its  hair.  Wild,  piercing  shrieks  !  A 
servant  stood  staring  in  amazement,  a  shattered 
goblet  at  her  feet. 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ? "  asked  Miss 
Churchill,  imperiously. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  !  "  answered  the  servant, 
grasping,  unconsciously,  at  her  own  throat  as  if 
from  it  the  cries  were  coming. 

"  Did  you  leave  the  room  ?  " 

**  She  asked  me  for  a  glass  of  cold  water,  a  kind  o' 
wild  like  !  I  went  to  git  it,  and  when  I  came  back 
she  was  a  screaming  and  tearing  herself  !  " 

At  these  words  the  doctor,  with  an  oath,  rushed 
from  the  room,  speeded  up  a  flight  of  stairs  and 
impetuously  pushed  open  a  door. 

Miss  Percy  was  in  dishabille,  her  perfect 
shoulders  and  arms  were  uncovered,  and  she  was 
busied  in  arranging  her  loose,  flowing  hair.  She 
started  at  the  intrusion,  flushed  from  brow  to 
bosom,  stared  angrily — and  then  smiled  ! 

"  You  are  welcome,  doctor,"  she  said  gayly ; 
"  only,  before  you  come  in,  please  remember  that  I 
have  not  suggested  this  indiscretion  !  " 

"  Pardon  me,"  he  stammered. 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  come,"  she  said,  with  a  fine 
seriousness.  "  I  was  puzzled,  and  your  advice  will 
be  welcome.  Resolve  my  doubts  by  answering  this 
very  important  question :  in  what  way  shall  I 
arrange  my  hair  ? " 

The  handsome  face  was  still  turned  toward  him. 


A  LECTURE  AND  A    SURPRISE.  147 

with  smiling  lips,  but  with  an  angry  glow  in  the  dark 
eyes.  He  reproached  himself  more  for  his  unjust 
suspicion  than  for  his  unpardonable   indiscretion. 

'*  I  heard  a  shriek  of  pain,"  he  said,  excusing  him- 
self with  a  weak  falsehood,  *'  and  I  thought  it  came 
from  this  room.     Pardon  me  !  " 

He  closed  the  door,  and  descended  the  stairs, 
angrily  cursing  his  own  impetuosity. 

The  shrieks  had  ceased  when  he  entered  his 
patient's  room  ;  but  she  was  still  tossing  about  on 
the  bed,  uttering  low,  convulsive  moans.  Once  she 
started  to  a  sitting  position,  stared  wildly  yet  plead- 
ingly around,  groaning : 

"  I  am  innocent !  I  am  innocent  !  "  Then  the 
voice  was  raised  to  a  shriek,  "  Save  me  !  Save  me  !  " 
and  then  sank  into  a  dreary  moan. 

Miss  Churchill  had  turned  a  questioning  face 
toward  the  doctor  as  he  entered,  and  he  replied  to 
it  in  words  : 

"  Not  possible  !  She  was  not  in  a  condition  to 
leave  her  room  !  "  To  hide  his  blushes  he  ap- 
proached the  bed. 

"  Then,  doctor,  we  can  only  suppose,  that  on 
returning  to  her  senses,  she  recalls  a  fact  which 
she  must  have  known  before." 

"  Or,"  said  a  calm  voice  at  the  door,  '*  remem- 
bers an  act  which  she  committed  in  a  passion,  and 
to  drive  which  from  her  mind  she  indulged  in  an 
overdose  of  poison  !  " 

The  doctor  turned,  to  meet  the  half  smiling,  half 
mocking  face  of  Detective  Sharpe  ! 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MISS   CHURCHILL    ON    THE    TRAIL, 

THE  detective  stood  quietly  at  the  door  while 
the  doctor  attended  to  his  patient,  amusing 
himself  with  noting  the  contents  of  the  room, 
especially  the  one  object  that  he  had  not  before 
seen,  the  busy,  yet  calm,  Miss  Churchill.  In  a  short 
time,  thanks  to  the  doctor's  skill,  the  restlessness  of 
the  patient  was  subdued,  and  she  sunk  into  silence, 
and  an  unconsciousness  that  simulated  sleep. 

At  this  favorable  moment  the  detective  asked  : 
"  Can  I  have  a  short  conversation  with  you,  doctor, 
down-stairs  ?  " 

"  We  will  converse  here,  Sharpe  !  "  said  the  doc- 
tor ;  then,  in  answer  to  the  cautioning  glance,  he 
added  :  "  Allow  me,  Detective  Sharpe,  to  intro- 
duce to  you  Miss  Churchill,  an  old  friend  of  Miss 
Gower,  to  whom  I  have  given  all  my  confidence, 
and  on  whom  I  depend  as  on  myself !  " 

The  detective  bowed  and  shrugged  his  shoulders  ; 
he  had  no  confidence  in  young  women  ;  but  that 
was  the  doctor's  look-out. 

"  As  you  like,  doctor.  I  came,  in  the  first  place, 
to  tell  you  of  some  little  items  I  have  picked  up, 
and  then  to  ask  for  your  company.     Miss  Churchill 


MISS  CHURCHILL    ON    THE   TRAIL.        I49 

will  pardon  me  if  my  words  tell  hard  against  her 
friend." 

"  She  won't  believe  them,  nevertheless,"  said  that 
young  lady,  pertly.  "  I  never  did  have  much  belief 
in  you  detectives,  even  in  novels.  If  the  authors 
didn't  go  out  of  their  way  to  make  you  right  at  the  last 
moment,  you'd  go  on  the  wrong  track  even  there  !  " 

"  I  hope  you  are  right.  Miss  Churchill  !  But, 
doctor,  the  facts  are  these  :  one  of  the  results  of 
my  labors  yesterday  was  to  discover  that  Miss 
Gower  was  the  woman  who  so  frequently  visited 
Mr.  Draper's  house  ;  I  have  witnesses  to  prove 
this,  and  also  to  prove  that  Miss  Gower  was  seen  in 
conversation  with  Mr.  Draper  at  eleven  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  murder  ;  and  they  acted  toward 
each  other  as  if  they  were  engaged  in  a  violent 
quarrel.  I  have  traced  Mr.  Draper,  up  to  that  hour, 
in  this  village,  when  he  is  suddenly  lost.  These  are 
facts,  doctor." 

**  I  will  accept  them  as  such,  Sharpe  !  " 

"  Well,  then,  I  will  go  to  another  matter.  Do  you 
remember  the  tramp  who  was  caught  plundering 
the  fruit  trees  in  the  dead  man's  grounds  ?  I  mean 
Ralph  Price,  who  saw  the  mysterious  woman  enter 
and  come  out  of  the  house  ? " 

"  I  remember  the  excellent  man  !  " 

"  Well,  he  has  been  in  charge  of  one  of  my  men 
ever  since.  Yesterday  I  again  put  his  nose  to  the 
grindstone,  with  the  determination  to  find  out  all 
he  knows.  He  finally  admitted  that  Miss  Gower 
was  the  woman  whom  he  had  seen." 


I50  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  Did  he  name  her  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  it  seems  that  several  times  he  had  visited 
Mr.  Morris's  house  on  begging  missions  ;  and  that 
once  he  had  gone  on  an  errand  for  the  young  lady 
herself.  He  mentioned  her  by  name  as  the  original 
of  the  lady  he  had  previously  described." 

"  Why  did  he  not  give  her  name  at  first  ?  " 

"  Well,  she  had  been  kind  to  him  ;  and  seeing 
me,  a  public  officer,  very  interested  in  the  matter, 
he  thought  I  meant  her  harm,  and  so  pretended 
ignorance  of  her  name.  However,  threats  of  long 
imprisonment  loosened  his  tongue,  and  restored 
his  memory  !  " 

"  Where  is  he  now  ? " 

"  Where  he  has  always  been,  in  charge  of  one  of 
my  men." 

"  Where  is  he  confined  ?  " 

"  In  the  jail  here." 

"  I  suppose,  then,  I  can  see  him  ? " 

"  Not  without  an  order  from  me.  That  is,  not 
to  speak  to  him.  I  gave  the  people  the  order,  so 
that  he  might  not  be  tampered  with." 

"  Will  you  write  me  an  order." 

"Willingly,"  said  the  detective,  with  a  smile,  and 
writing  in  his  pocket-book.  "  Here  is  the  order, 
doctor,  and  I  am  anxious  to  hear  what  science  will 
make  out  of  this  very  troublesome  admission." 

"  Are  there  any  other  facts  ?  " 

"  One  more.  I  have  discovered  that  Mr.  Tom 
Merton  has  taken  a  steamer  for  Europe.  He 
spoke  freely  to  his  friends  before  going,  with  this 


MISS  CHURCHILL  ON   THE    TRAIL.        151 

result  :  the  rich  relative  from  whom  he  has  so 
many  expectations  largely  invested  his  money  in 
the  African  diamond  fields  and  other  shaky  specu- 
lations. These  have  collapsed  ;  Mr.  Merton  finds 
that  he  is  ruined,  with  many  other  foolish  specu- 
lators, and  rushes  away,  in  hopes  that  something 
may  be  saved.  I  am  satisfied  that  he  may  be 
excluded,  henceforth,  from  the  line  of  our  investi- 
gations. If  you  still  doubt,  I  will  surrender  to  your 
criticism  the  large  number  of  details  that  my  agents 
have  gathered  together  on  this  point." 

"  I  may  take  advantage  of  your  kindness  later. 
What  else  ? " 

"  Nothing,  except  Mr.  Newton  intends  to  bury 
his  master  to-day.  Strangely  enough,  none  of  the 
people  here  have  shown  much  interest  in  following 
the  murdered  man  to  his  last  home.  Mr.  Terms  is 
going,  and  to  exhaust  that's  man's  information  I 
have  consented  to  accompany  him.  Thinking  you 
might  like  to  share  my  pleasure,  I  have  come  to 
invite  you." 

"  I  can  not  leave  the  house  to-day,"  said  the 
doctor,  after  glancing  at  Miss  Churchill. 

"  And  I  can  not  spare  more  time  to  this  pleasant 
company,"  said  the  detective,  rising.  "  And  let  me 
say.  Doctor  Dubois,  if  you  do  not  very  quickly  give 
me  some  positive  reason  to  the  contrary,  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  follow  my  original  intention  and  end 
my  duties  by  arresting  Miss  Gower.  I  am  sorry  to 
say  it,  but  I  think  I  am  in  possession  of  enough 
facts  to  justify  me  in  my  line  of  conduct." 


152  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  She  is  in  no  danger  of  escaping,"  answered  the 
doctor,  with  a  glance  at  the  bed.  "  But  I  am  still 
in  hopes  of  convincing  you  of  your  error." 

"  Before  retiring,  allow  me  to  explain  to  Miss 
Churchill  that  my  strange  appearance  here  is  due 
to  Mr.  Morris.  He  opened  the  door  for  me,  or, 
rather,  he  was  going  out  as  I  was  coming  in,  and 
he  sent  me  here.  I  say  so  much,"  he  added,  with 
a  smile,  "  that  Miss  Churchill  may  not  confound 
me  with  those  wonderful  detectives  who  appear  and 
disappear  with  such  supernatural  mystery." 

Miss  Churchill  listened  to  the  explanation  in 
languid  indifference  ;  but  when  he  disappeared  she 
started  into  sudden  activity. 

"  He  is  tiresome  as  well  as  foolish,"  she  said, 
rising,  and  with  a  reassuring  nod  to  the  depressed 
doctor.  "  Please  give  me  the  order  he  has  written, 
and  while  I  am  away,  personally  attend  to  the  case 
of  your  patient." 

"You  are  not  then  discouraged  ?  " 

"I  have  successfully  emerged  from  greater  diffi- 
culties. You  all  have  tried  your  hands,  and  it  is 
time  now  for  me  to  try  mine  !  " 

"  And  what  is  your  real  opinion  ?  " 

"  I  have  none,  doctor,  until  I  reach  the  end  of 
my  journey.  The  people  who  talk  discover  noth- 
ing but  paradoxes.  Let  me  then  act  and  keep 
silent." 

She  retired  to  her  own  room,  changed  her  showy 
robe  for  a  sedate  walking-dress  and  bonnet,  and 
then  sat  down  and  patiently  waited.     After  a  short 


MISS    CHURCHILL    OX    THE  TRAIL.        153 

time  passed  in  this  idleness,  she  rose,  seized  an 
umbrella,  and  passing  down  the  stairs  left  the  house. 
The  direction  in  which  she  first  walked  was  toward 
the  railway  station,  and  reaching  this  cheerless  little 
place,  she  became  a  part  of  the  dozen  or  more  peo- 
ple who  were  waiting  for  the  expected  train.  The 
rain  fell  heavily,  and,  as  she  had  no  water-proof, 
and  her  dress  was  lavender-colored  and  of  light 
material,  she  retired  into  the  moldy,  deserted  room 
that  was  reserved  for  the  use  of  her  sex.  She  re- 
appeared as  the  train  was  thundering  toward  the 
station  and  the  passengers  were  rushing  down  the 
steps  to  meet  it.  But  in  the  interval  her  black  hair 
had  turned  to  reddish  brown  ;  the  greater  portion 
of  her  body  was  protected  by  a  water-proof  gar- 
ment, and  the  line  of  dress  that  was  visible  had 
faded  from  lavender  into  black.  Her  face  had  un. 
dergone  a  more  remarkable  change  ;  and  even  her 
delicate  little  umbrella  had  become  converted  into 
an  unwieldy  blue  anomaly  that  defied  classification. 
She  did  not  enter  the  train  ;  but,  when  it  had 
passed  on,  she  struck  across  the  fields  in  a  direc- 
tion directly  opposite  to  her  former  course.  So 
long  as  she  was  in  the  inhabited  region,  she  main- 
tained a  steady,  sedate  walk  ;  but  when  she  reached 
the  woodlands,  she  drew  the  cap  of  her  water-proof 
over  her  head  and  face,  closed  her  umbrella,  and 
passed  onward  with  light  and  rapid  steps. 

It  was  a  dreary,  uncomfortable  journey,  over 
soaked  fields,  boggy  roads,  and  under  dripping 
trees  ;  with  the  wind  shrieking  angrily  and  flinging 


154  PVHO  IS  GUILTY? 

rain  that  was  as  cold  as  ice  directly  in  her  face- 
But  there  was  no  rest  in  the  determined  steps,  no 
relaxation  in  the  tireless  energy,  until  the  old  house 
loomed  through  the  gloom  and  rain,  like  a  black 
blot  against  the  less  black  sky.  At  this  point  of 
her  journey,  she  paused,  and  became  deeply  inter- 
ested in  studying  the  situation  of  the  mansion. 
Its  picturesqueness  was  charming ;  the  grounds 
must  have  been,  at  one  time,  very  attractive  ;  the 
ocean  view  was  grand;  the  stonewalls  and  iron 
gratings  surrounding  the  extensive  domain  must 
have  cost  large  sums  of  money,  for  the  stone  was 
of  rare  quality,  carefully  polished  and  cut,  and  as 
accurately  laid  as  the  walls  of  a  house.  But  these 
items  did  not  interest  Miss  Churchill  ;  she  was 
deeply  absorbed  in  studying  a  dense  mass  of  trees 
that  were  some  feet  distant  from  the  boundary  line 
of  the  property  ;  and  which  suggested  mystery  and 
doubt  to  her  fine  instinct.  Much  might  be  accom- 
plished in  the  gloom  of  these  trees,  and  they  so 
faced  an  angle  of  the  house  that  they  could  not  be 
seen  from  its  windows.  She  studied  these  natural 
objects  with  the  eye  of  an  educated  critic,  and  was 
not  greatly  surprised  when  she  saw  something  mov- 
ing in  the  midst  of  them.  She  glanced  toward  the 
house  ;  not  a  sign  of  life  was  visible-atthe  windows 
or  in  the  grounds  surrounding  it.  Nothing  but 
desolation  and  a  monotonous  downpour  of  rain. 
She  again  glanced  toward  the  trees  ;  the  moving 
object  had  vanished  ;  but  on  one  of  the  tree- 
branches  a  narrow  strip    of   gray    cloth    fluttered 


MISS  CHURCHILL   ON   THE    TRAIL.        155 

wildly  in  the  wind.  And  now  from  the  woods  above 
her  there  glided  a  human  figure  draped  from  head 
to  foot  in  a  water- proof  cloak.  The  figure  sped 
over  the  ground,  entered  the  clump  of  trees,  grad- 
ually diminished  in  height,  and  then  vanished. 
After  a  moment  of  thought.  Miss  Churchill  fol- 
lowed in  the  wake  of  the  vanished  figure,  and,  in 
turn,  entered  the  mysterious  little  grove,  which 
consisted  of  trees  so  closely  planted  that  their 
branches  touched  and  intermingled  overhead. 
The  ground  beneath  was  bare  of  grass,  and  in  its 
midst  was  a  large  stone  that  was  strangely  sugges- 
tive of  druidical  rites  and  ceremonies.  A  decep- 
tive stone  as  to  weight,  for,  with  an  effort,  even  the 
slight  Miss  Churchill  could  raise  it  backward  on 
its  large  steel  hinges.  Without  stopping  to  take 
note  of  this  fact,  or  to  bless  a  long-dead  old  man 
Tor  his  eccentricities,  she  boldly  descended  the 
flight  of  rugged  steps,  that  seemed  built  in  the 
ground,  and  as  she  descended  allowed  the  decep- 
tive stone  to  close  over  her.  She  found  herself  in 
a  dark,  damp,  narrow  passage-way,  hardly  broader 
than  her  own  shoulders.  The  air  was  heavy,  but, 
to  her  surprise,  it  was  not  stifling  ;  and,  with  her 
hands  touching  the  walls  on  either  side,  she  walked 
forward  cautiously,  but  unhesitatingly.  She  soon 
found  herself  in  a  broad,  gloomy  vault,  lighted  by 
one  narrow,  barred  window  in  the  wall  above.  To 
her  left  was  a  flight  of  narrow,  winding  steps,  and 
these  she  ascended  till  the  sound  of  voices  and  an 
increase  of  light  indicated  that,    for   the   present, 


156  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

she  had  ventured  far  enough.  She  seated  herself 
on  the  steps,  glanced  upward  to  the  half-opened 
door  on  a  line  with  the  top  of  her  head,  and  lis- 
tened to  the  conversation  that  reached  her  as  if  it 
were  being  delivered  through  an  imperfect  speak- 
ing tube.  The  voices  revealed  that  a  man  and  a 
woman  were  speaking  ;  the  man  in  deep,  angry 
tones  ;  the  woman  in  the  most  musical  of  voices. 

"  You  are  always  making  mountains  out  of  mole- 
hills !  "  were  the  first  words  that  reached  her  ears 
"  If  that  is  all  you   have  to  tell,  I  knew  it  already 
and  a  pretty  waste  of  time  when  I  most  need  it 
Is  that  all  ?" 

"  No,  it  is  not  all,  and  I  order  you.  Max  Newton 
to  take  a  lower  tone  with  me  or  you'll  repent  it ! ' 

"  Curse  you  for  an  idiot  !    What  do  you  want?' 

"  To  bid  you  farewell  ;   I'm  going  away." 

"  Is  this  a  time  for  jest  ?  "  asked  the  man's  voice 
sternly. 

"I'm  in  sober  earnest.  I'm  going  away,  to-day, 
to-morrow,  or  next  day;  but  I  go  just  the  same." 

"  If  I  allow  you  ! " 

"  You  can't  help  yourself." 

"  Move  a  step  without  my  permission  and  take 
the  consequences !  " 

"  I  am  not  afraid.  To  hang  me  would  be  to 
hang  yourself,  and  I  am  very  easy  so  far  as  you  are 
concerned  !  " 

"  If  I  thought  you  were  in  earnest,"  came  the 
somber  answer,  "  I  would  dash  out  your  worthless 
brains   against  the  stone  wall  on  which    you    are 


MISS  CHURCHILL    ON   THE    TRAIL.        157 

leaning.  Speak  plainly.  Are  you  dissatisfied  ? 
If  your  miserly  soul  craves  for  money,  tell  me  how 
much  would  stifle  your  complaints?" 

"  I  am  dissatisfied  with  every  thing.  You  took 
advantage  of  my  necessities  to  drag  me  into  the 
vile  business " 

"  I  knew  your  soul  almost  as  well  as  you  knew  it 
yourself !  " 

"  You  dog  !  My  hands  and  soul  were  clean  until 
you  tempted  me  !  Starvation  and  degradation  on 
one  side  ;  comparative  wealth  and  crime  on  the 
other.  I  was  starving,  I  saw  only  the  food  and 
grasped  it.  I  am  less  wicked  than  I  hoped  to  be. 
You  have  sunk  me  to  hell  with  your  temptations, 
but  you  shall  not  rob  me  of  all  happiness  in  this 
world  too  ! " 

"  You  know  what  I  have  already  done  and  ven- 
tured !  Do  you  imagine  that  I  will  hesitate  at 
another  crime  to  reach  the  goal  for  which  I  have 
struggled.  You  little  idiot !  with  your  greed  turned 
into  love  spasms.  Leave  me  in  doubt  to-day,  allow 
me  to  doubt  in  the  future,  and  your  egotistic  abor- 
tion of  a  doctor  shall  suffer  for  it.  I  have  spared 
him  so  far  on  your  account — it  was  part  of  the 
agreement — and  I  kept  it  despite  the  trouble  and 
anxiety  it  has  caused  me.  Forget  your  oath,  and  I 
swear  that  his  life  shall  be  a  part  payment  for  the 
treachery.     You  know  me  !  " 

There  was  a  silence  of  a  few  minutes,  broken  at 
last  by  the  woman's  voice,  which  had  lost  its  musi- 
cal sweetness,  and  was  now  forced  and  harsh. 


158  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"Order!     What  am  I  to  do  ? " 

"  Keep  on  as  you  have  been  doing.  In  a  few 
days  you  are  free.  I  will  personally  see  to  your 
future  happiness  ;  or  you  are  free  to  go  where  you 
will.  It  is  now  necessary  that  she  should  be  ruined 
for  the  safety  of  both.  If  necessary,  next  time  tap 
her  on  the  head  !  I  should  prefer  her  to  face  her 
degradation  in  full  consciousness,  but  if  you  fear 
'  spies  ',  mutilate  her — curse  her  ! — do  any  thing 
but  kill  her.  That  will  come  later,  in  the  form  of  a 
rope  !  " 

**  I  can  not  do  that  !  " 

*'  Keep  in  your  place,  then  ;  preserve  your  old 
attitude,  and  when  I  have  ended  the  business  here, 
I  will  come  to  your  help  and  do  what  you  fear  to  do." 

"  It  is  impossible." 

"  Nothing  is  impossible  to  me  and  my  hatred,  as 
you  know  !  I  will  venture  in  their  midst,  and 
escape  from  it  unharmed,  after  I  have  paid  my 
devotions  to  your  lady  !  Curse  her,  and  trebly 
curse  her  !  You  stare.  Doubt  as  much  as  you 
like,  only  heed  and  obey  me.  Stay  where  you  are, 
her  present  state  will  last  until  I  am  ready  for  her. 
Play  the  saint,  the  fiend  or  the  angel,  any  thing  but 
the  traitor,  and  I  am  content." 

"I  can  not  help  myself." 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  reached  that  wise  conclu- 
sion. Now  let  me  show  your  idiocy  out  !  I  have 
already  wasted  the  time  I  can  not  spare,  and  I  must 
bury  him  to-day.  Come  !  end  your  snivel  until  you 
are  safe  at  home." 


AfISS  CHURCHILL    OX    THE    TRAIL.        159 

At  this  point  Miss  Churchill  hastily  withdrew, 
and  hid  herself  in  the  black  shadows  of  the  vault 
below.  The  conversation  continued  some  time 
longer  in  the  room  above  ;  but  she  heard  only  a 
confused  sound,  instead  of  words.  The  murmur 
died  away  ;  and  there  was  the  echo  of  footsteps 
descending  the  stone  stairs.  Two  figures  entered 
the  vault,  crossed  and  passed  into  the  dark  tunnel 
on  the  other  side- 
When  they  had  disappeared,  Miss  Churchill 
emerged  from  her  retreat,  noiselessly  ascended  the 
steps  and  entered  the  room  above.  She  glanced 
at  the  door  and  discovered  it  was  of  massive  stone, 
like  the  walls  of  the  room  itself.  A  tall,  curiously- 
shaped  room,  with  a  single  narrow  window  in  the 
thick  wall  ;  built  in  an  angle  of  the  house,  with 
stone  ceiling,  stone  walls  and  stone  floor  ;  empty, 
save  for  a  small  bench  just  beneath  the  window. 
A  narrow,  winding  stone  stairway  crossed  it  at  its 
center  ;  this  Miss  Churchill  ascended,  and  found 
herself  in  another  room  similar  to  the  one  below, 
but  of  double  its  height,  and  with  a  ceiling  con- 
verging on  all  sides  to  a  central  point.  The  stair- 
way abruptly  ceased  in  this  room  ;  but  a  heavy 
stone  door  was  on  the  side  opposite  the  window. 
A  huge  bolt  was  in  this  door  ;  but  it  was  drawn 
back,  and  pulling  on  the  ring  which  served  in  place 
of  a  handle,  Miss  Churchill  opened  it ;  passed 
through,  while  the  door  slowly  swung  to  and  closed 
with  a  metallic  "  click  ".  She  was  now  in  a  hallway 
of  what  was  once  the  inhabited  part  of  the  house  ; 


l6o  WHO  IS   GUILTY? 

she  had  entered  at  its  center,  and  it  ran  in  curving 
Hne  from  north  to  south.  Before  venturing  further, 
she  turned  to  look  at  the  door  ;  but  though  she  had 
just  passed  through  she  could  not  discover  it. 
Its  surface  was  covered  with  the  came  paper  that 
lined  the  hall  walls,  and  its  lines  of  junction  were 
undiscovered  by  her  sharp  eyes  or  practiced  fingers. 

Fearing  discovery,  she  glided  onward,  and  had 
hardly  hidden  herself  behind  the  tapestry  that  was 
half  drawn  back  from  before  the  entrance  to  a 
dark  room,  when  the  door  again  opened,  and  an  old, 
gray-haired  man  appeared  in  the  hallway.  He 
went  in  the  direction  opposite  that  she  had  taken, 
and  descended  a  broad  flight  of  stairs  at  the  other 
side  of  the  hall,  passing  a  window  that  extended 
from  roof  to  floor  of  the  hall,  and  through  which 
the  light  streamed  on  his  sedate  figure  and  vener- 
able face.  His  footsteps  still  sounded,  descending 
lower  and  lower  the  flights  of  uncarpeted  stairs. 

Miss  Churchill  now  left  her  place  of  conceal- 
ment, crossed  the  hall,  and  glanced  out  the  high, 
narrow  window.  Gazing  downward,  the  land  that 
connected  the  house  with  the  village  was  in  the 
line  of  her  vision  ;  and,  after  a  brief  interval,  she 
saw  a  sober,  sedate  figure  cross  this  piece  of  land 
and  disappear.  She  now  descended  the  stairs, 
anxious  to  get  safely  out  of  the  trap  into  which  she 
had  knowingly  entered.  Flight  after  flight  she 
descended,  meeting  with  no  one,  and  caring  to 
meet  with  no  one. 

She  reached  the  hallway  of  the  lowest  story,  and 


MISS   CHURCHILL   ON  THE    TRAIL.         lOi 

the  door  of  exit  was  before  her ;  but  she  could  not 
resist  glancing  in  the  open  doorway  into  the  large 
somber  room  which  was  fitted  up  as  a  library. 

A  desk  littered  with  papers  was  temptingly  near 
the  door.  She  approached  it,  selected  one  of  the 
papers — the  detective's  memoranda  of  the  case — 
and  placed  it  in  her  pocket.  She  then  seized  a  sheet 
of  blank  paper,  and,  with  a  smile  on  her  lips,  wrote 
the  words  :  "  To  the  most  vigilant  of  detectives, 
from  his  admirer.  Miss  O.  G." 

She  now  opened  the  front  door,  tripped  to  the 
veranda  only  to  face  a  local  police-officer,  who 
stared  at  her  in  ludicrous  amazement. 

**  Who  are  you,  ma'am  ?  "  he  asked,  fiercely,  con- 
quering his  fear.  She  gracefully  handed  him  the 
order  that  the  detective  had  written  at  the  doctor's 
request. 

The  policeman  received  it  superciliously,  and 
read  :  ^'■Please  treat  the  bearer  of  this  ivith  the 
utmost  courtesy,  and  give  the  same  liberty  of  action  as 
if  you  were  dealing  with  the  undersigned. — /.  Sharpe, 
Detective." 

The  policeman  handed  it  back  to  the  woman 
with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  which  he  converted 
into  an  :  "  Excuse  me,  ma'am,  I  didn't  know  !  " 

"I  excuse  and  thank  you." 

She  smiled,  opened  her  umbrella  and  passed  out 
into  the  storm. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

CUNNING    MATCHES   CUNNING. 

WHEN  Miss  Churchill  returned  to  Woodbine 
Villa  she  retired  first  to  her  room  to  change 
her  rain-soaked  garments  ;  then  descended  to  the 
invalid's  room.  At  her  appearance,  the  doctor,  who 
was  playing  the  part  of  nurse,  cast  aside  his  book, 
and  advanced  to  meet  her  with  a  smiling  face. 

"  She  sleeps  quietly,  doctor,"  she  said,  glancing 
critically  toward  the  pale  yet  tranquil  face  on  the 
pillow. 

"  More  quietly  than  I  hoped.  Are  you  satisfied 
with  the  results  of  your  journey  ?  " 

"  They  have  been  fairly  satisfactory.  I  have  paid 
a  visit  to  Ralph  Price,  and  by  threats  and  cunning 
and  promises  discovered  that  he  has  never  seen 
Miss  Gower  in  his  life.  What  he  said  to  the  detect- 
ive he  has  been  taught  to  say,  and  it's  my  belief  his 
teacher  was  Max  Newton." 

"  This  conclusion  is  in  entire  harmony  with  my 
scientific  deductions,"  said  the  doctor,  approv- 
ingly. 

"  I  always  had  the  greatest  respect  for  science, 
but  I  have  not  time  now  to  indulge  in  its  praises. 
It  is  my  desire  that  Miss  Percy  return  to  her  old 


CUAWING  MATCHES  CUXNIiVG.  163 

position  near  the  patient.  You  will  please  tell  her 
that  the  volatile  Miss  Churchill  has  grown  tired  of 
playing  the  part  of  nurse  and  prefers  to  sleep  in  her 
own  room." 

"  But — "  began  the  astonished  doctor. 

'*  Miss  Percy  is  reinstated  here  as  maid,"  insisted 
the  other,  "  and  you  are  to  tell  her,  in  a  diplomatic 
way,  of  course,  that  professionally  you  are  deeply 
interested  in  the  recovery  of  your  patient.  You 
will  detain  Miss  Percy  here  for  a  couple 
of  hours  this  evening,  as  I  intend  to  search  her 
room." 

"  Oh  !  I  begin  to  understand  you  !  Is  there  any 
thing  else  ?  " 

"  One  more  item,  doctor.  Before  I  went  away 
this  morning,  I  scribbled  a  note  to  Captain  Travers. 
Can  you  tell  me  if  he  received  it  ? " 

"  All  my  information  is  contained  in  the  state- 
ment that  he  left  the  house  in  a  very  hurried  man- 
ner, without  informing  me  of  his  intentions  or 
destination.  He  took  a  hand-satchel  with  him,  and 
in  parting  with  me  told  me  he  did  not  know  when 
he  should  return." 

"  He  has  then  received  my  note,"  said  Miss 
Churchill,  sinking  into  an  arm-chair  with  a  sigh  of 
relief.  "  Your  watch  is  over  for  the  present,  doc- 
tor. Perhaps,  however,  it  may  be  well  to  inform 
Miss  Percy  that  I  have  been  deposed.  Tell  her 
that  in  your  indignation  you  have  brought  me  to  a 
sense  of  my  duty.  It  will  cause  her  to  regard  you 
more  favorably." 


164  WHO  IS  GUILl^Y? 

"  But  I  do  not  wish  her  regards  !  "  growled  the 
doctor,  irritably. 

"  It  will  help  us — and  she  is  pretty  !  " 

The  doctor  gazed  suspiciously  at  his  friend  to 
•detect  the  incipient  symptoms  of  mockery  or 
satire,  but  the  sphinx-face  defied  his  scrutiny,  and 
he  left  the  room  the  victim  of  suppressed  irrita- 
tion. 

Miss  Churchill  solaced  her  loneliness  by  reading 
the  manuscript  that  she  had  stolen  from  the  library 
in  the  old  house.  It  was  dull  reading  for  a  woman, 
as  it  consisted  of  nothing  but  detached  names, 
and  long  columns  of  figures.  Yet  it  absorbed  all 
her  attention,  and  the  rustle  of  Miss  Percy's  dress 
startled  her  as  if  she  had  heard  the  report  of  a 
cannon.  She  had  been  engaged  a  long  hour  in  her 
study  of  the  manuscript,  and  even  then  it  had  not 
revealed  its  secret. 

There  was  no  weariness  in  Miss  Percy's  face  ;  a 
natural  bloom  was  on  her  cheeks  ;  her  eyes  were 
bright,  although  they  were  unusually  serious  ;  but 
that  added  to,  rather  than  detracted  from,  her 
dainty  beauty. 

"  Can  I  serve  you  with  any  refreshments,  Miss 
Churchill?"  she  asked,  seriously  hospitable, 
"  Dinner  is  still  an  hour  away  !  " 

"I  ain't  hungry,  Miss  Percy,  but  I'm  glad  you've 
got  over  your  airs.  I'm  good-natured  when  I  see 
people  in  their  places,  but  I  never  could  stand  see- 
ing servants  acting  like  their  mistresses." 

"Is  it  not  equally  bad  for  the  mistress  to  assume 


CUNNING  MATCHES  CUNNING.  165 

the  part  of  the  servant  ?  "  asked  Miss  Percy,  with  a 
smile. 

"  It  is  very  tiresome,  at  least ;  and  I've  no  objec- 
tion for  you  to  take  that  labor  off  my  shoulders. 
Though  how  even  you  can  pass  your  life  at  beck 
and  call  of  another  I  can't  understand.  Where 
were  you  born  ? "  she  asked,  indulging  in  the  liberty 
which  one  woman  boldly  assumes  toward  the  other 
when  she  is  higher  in  the  social  scale. 

"  I  was  born  in  Manchester,  England.  My 
father  was  a  manufacturer  of  cotton  ;  rich  and 
good,  and  my  real  name  is  Perceval  and  not  Percy." 

The  explanation  was  given  with  a  quiet  unaffect- 
edness  that  favorably  imp"ressed  the  suspicious 
Miss  Churchill. 

"  Rich  ?     And  you  in  service  ?  " 

"  His  second  wife  was  a  widow  with  five  children 
of  her  own.  She  did  not  love  me,  or  I  her.  I  was 
scratched  from  the  will.  When  _my  father  died,  I 
ran  away  from  home  to  this  country,  trusting  for 
protection  to  an  uncle,  who  closed  his  door  in  my 
face.  He  was  rich,  too,  but  he  left  me  to  starva- 
tion, or  worse,  without  a  care  !  " 

"  What  is  your  uncle's  business  ?" 

"I  suppose jtw^  would  call  him  a  servant.  He 
was  major  domo,  half  servant,  half  friend.  Per- 
haps he  is  master  himself  now,  who  knows  ? " 

"Are  you  friendly  with  him  ?  " 

"  As  friendly  as  you  would  be  with  a  man  who 
held  a  pistol  to  your  head  !  He  needs  me  !  But 
there  is  the  first  bell  for  dinner  ringing  !  " 


1 66  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

Miss  Churchill  hastily  retired,  and  Miss  Percy 
sank  into  an  arm-chair,  and,  in  imagination,  filled 
the  fingers  of  her  pretty  but  unadorned  hands  with 
a  number  of  rings.  But  she  was  not  in  an  amiable 
mood  ;  having  passed  through  the  bitter  experience 
that  had  taught  her  to  suspect  everybody  else,  she 
had  reached  a  less  satisfying  stage  of  thought,  and 
began  to  suspect  herself.  With  strange  perversity, 
she  thought  less  of  the  dangers  of  the  present, 
than  of  the  hopes  of  the  future. 

She  was  sad  and  discouraged,  although  the  road 
to  fortune  and  social  position  was  open  before  her. 
Glancing  backward,  it  seemed  to  her  that  the 
labor  was  hardly  worth  the  pains.  She  was  troubled 
with  hesitations  and  doubts.  It  was  a  gloomy  life, 
after  all  ;  and  even  if  she  succeeded,  there  was  very 
little  to  live  for.  There  are  worse  things  in  the 
world  than  starvation  ;  and  diamond  rings,  in  them- 
selves, are  not  necessarily  nobler  ornaments  than 
iron  rings.  There  was  less  difficulty  in  saving 
herself  than  in  respecting  herself  !  The  pendulum 
of  her  thoughts  swung  with  monotonous  regularity 
between  Max  Newton  and  Doctor  Dubois.  The 
former  had  her  hate  and  the  latter  her  contempt ; 
yet  her  safety  depended  on  the  one,  and  her  hap- 
piness or  misery  on  the  other,  and  the  choice  was 
very  difficult  to  make. 

"  Better  stake  all  to  win  all,  than  lead  this 
wretched  life  !  "  was  her  thought.  "  If  I  can  hang 
him  before  he  kills  me,  I  shall  be  lucky  !  He  forced 
me  to  enter  the  path,  and  let  him  take  the  con- 


CUNNING  MATCHES  CUNNING.  167 

sequences.  A  poor  price  for  years  of  honesty, 
suffering,  and  misery,"  she  thought  with  dismal 
regret.  "  In  a  moment  I  have  become  every  thing 
I  feared  to  be,  and  suffered  starvation  that  I  might 
not  be !  But  they  are  all  the  same  !  "  she  thought, 
yielding  to  the  solace  of  sweeping  generalization  ; 
"  all  the  same,  only  I  still  detest  what  they  are 
taught  to  worship  as  a  necessary  evil.  A  ball- 
room is  worse,"  she  thought,  with  a  frown  on  her 
face.  "  Only  the  difference  is,  that  I  am  struggling 
for  life,  and  they  to  show  their  shamelessness.  My 
one  only  honest  pride,"  she  thought,  her  regret 
merged  into  a  painful  humiliation.  "  Even  death 
to  that  !  "  she  thought,  with  her  eyes  turned 
moodily  toward  the  bed.  "  I  will  become  deadened 
to  it,  like  to  all  the  rest,  and  the  sooner  the  better  ! 
The  devil  has  left  that  to  me  as  an  anticipation  of 
the  future  !  The  doctor  would  call  it  a  mania,"  she 
thought,  her  face  hardening  into  sternness.  "  An 
anomaly  !  Shame  in  a  shameless  one  !  Prudery  in 
a  poisoner  !  "  This  with  another  glance  at  the  bed. 
"  He,  too,  would  let  me  starve,  if  it  were  not  for  my 
pretty  shoulders  and  my  boldness.  The  doctor  ! 
the  doctor  !  I  am  selling  myself  like  a  decent 
woman,  without  a  decent  woman's  love  of  the 
transaction  !  " 

She  again  glanced  down  at  her  white,  dimpled 
hands,  and  her  eyes  wandered  from  her  fingers  to 
her  wrists. 

"  Many  have  sold  their  souls  for  less,"  she 
thought,  removing  the  plain  gold  bangle  from  her 


l68  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

wrist  with  a  shudder.  "  And  I  will  become 
deadened  to  it !  deadened  to  it  !  The  doctor  ! 
the  doctor  !  What  is  left  me  to  love  but  gold  and 
dress  !  They  blast  me  with  the  evil  in  their  eyes 
that  their  tongues  dare  not  speak  !  Fools  they,  and 
fool  I  ;    only  I  will  use  them  to  exalt  myself  !  " 

Miss  Percy  continued  her  meditations  ;  but  she 
no  longer  thought  of  the  one  humiliation  that  she 
submitted  to,  yet  which  caused  her  the  sharpest 
agony — the  insult  to  her  maidenly  modesty  !  She 
defied  it  ;  would  perhaps  defy  it  again  and  again, 
but  it  was  there,  and  every  act  of  defiance  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  flood  of  bitter  tears  !  An  anomaly  in 
such  a  being?  But  in  the  muddiest  pools  there  is 
some  distorted  reflection  of  heaven  ;  in  every  mire- 
stained,  wind-tossed  leaf  some  suggestion  of  a  dead 
summer  of  which  it  was  a  part.  An  anomaly  !  The 
doctor  !  the  doctor  ! 

But  Miss  Percy  resolutely  subdued  her  pain,  and 
again  directed  her  attention  to  the  real  danger  that 
menaced  her.  Here  she  could  summon  her  energy 
and  her  pride  ;  her  scorn  and  her  cynicism  ;  and 
here  work  on  more  congenial  subjects. 

The  early  twilight  settled  heavily  around  her, 
and  blotted  her  out  of  sight.  From  the  drawing- 
room  below  came  the  faint  sounds  of  music.  Miss 
Churchill  was  evidently  amusing  her  host  and  her 
host's  friends  with  songs.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
farce  ! 

Miss  Percy  rose,  lighted  the  gas,  and  then  gazed 
at  herself  in  the  mirror. 


CUNNING  MATCHES  CUNNING.  169 

"  He  is  dangerous  !  "  she  said  mockingly,  "  and  I 
do  not  Jook  badly  !  Perhaps  he  will  ask  me  to 
copy  another  lying  report.     The  poor,  silly  man  !  " 

She  turned  from  the  glass  to  bathe  the  face  of 
the  sleeping  woman  ;  adjust  the  disheveled  hair, 
and  smooth  down  the  pillows.  This  labor  done, 
she  stood  for  a  moment  by  the  bedside,  contem- 
plating her  work. 

"  I  shall  never  indulge  in  opium.  She  was  pretty 
before  she  took  it ;  but  in  a  few  days  she  has  grown 
ten  years  olden." 

The  unconscious  woman  feebly  murmured  in  her 
sleep. 

"She  is  dreaming  of  the  gallant  captain  !  If  I 
hated  her,  I  should  rejoice  at  her  recovery  ;  if  she 
were  my  sister  and  I  loved  her,  I  would  let  her  die. 
And  she  has  been  kind  to  me  !  I  might  cry,  if  I 
had  time  to  think  of  it  !  " 

She  gently  lifted  the  heavy  arms  and  arranged 
them  in  a  more  comfortable  position,  and  then 
turned  away  from  the  bed. 

She  welcomed  the  doctor,  who  now  entered,  with 
a  joyous  little  laugh. 

"  I  am  anxious  to  see  the  condition  of  my  patient 
when  she  wakes.  I  hope  it  will  be  favorable,  for  I  have 
staked  my  reputation  on  her  complete  recovery." 

"  Then  she  must  and  shall  get  well  !  "  exclaimed 
the  young  woman  determinedly.  "  Only  you  must 
not  allow  Miss  Churchill  to  interfere  with  me 
again  !  " 

"  I  think  I  have  convinced  her  rustic  mind   that 


17°  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

good  manners  require  her  to  attend  to  her  own 
business  !  " 

Miss  Percy  became  silently  thoughtful  for  a 
moment,  then  said,  with  a  certain  anxiety  : 

"  You  are  very  much  interested  in  Miss  Gower, 
and  she  is  very  pretty  !  " 

"  You  foolish  child  !  A  doctor  is  not  a  man  !  If 
Miss  Gower  were  the  most  hideous  of  women,  my 
interest  in  her  would  be  exactly  the  same.  After  I 
have  cured  her,  I  am  indifferent — I  never  was  fond 
of  her  !  But  I  am  vain  of  my  skill,  my  dear,  and 
rather  than  have  it  fail  here,  I  would  submit  to 
almost  any  other  humiliation  !  " 

The  cloud  vanished  from  Miss  Percy's  face. 

"  Your  skill  will  conquer  ;  I'm  sure  of  it  !  "  she 
said  gayly  ;  "and  since  you  are  so  very  much  inter- 
ested, I  would  give  my  life  rather  than  you  should 
fail !  " 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MISS    CHURCHILL    RECEIVES    A    WARNING, 

WHILE  the  doctor  is  employed  in  entertaining 
Miss  Percy,  Miss  Churchill  is  employed  in 
examining  Miss  Percy's  room.  She  goes  about  her 
work  in  a  calm,  systematic  manner,  neglecting 
nothing,  forgetting  nothing.  She  did  not  expect 
to  find  much  of  a  compromising  nature,  for, 
although  Miss  Percy  was  foolish,  it  was  not  prob- 
able that  she  would  keep  possession  of  any  thing 
that  would  place  a  rope  around  her  neck.  Never- 
theless, the  experienced  Miss  Churchill  thought  it 
very  probable  that  articles  or  manuscript  that  com- 
promised her  might  be  found. 

Her  expectation  might  be  interpreted  in  these 
words  : 

"  The  woman  shares  in  the  crime,  but,  in  addition 
to  the  danger  that  menaces  all,  there  is  an  indi- 
vidual danger  as  well.  Criminals  are  suspicious  of 
each  other,  and  to  prevent  an  anticipated  treach- 
ery, they  will  keep  something  which,  in  case  of 
danger,  they  can  hold  as  a  Damocles'  sword  over 
their  faint-hearted  companions.  Now,  it  is  very 
probable  that  Miss  Percy  has  held  back  something 
that  she  may  use   against  the  old  man  who  plays 


172  WHO   IS  GUILTY? 

the  part  of  tyrannical  master  to  her.  She  fears 
him  and  wishes  to  escape  from  him,  and  if  he  has 
written  to  her  any  thing  of  a  compromising  nature,  I 
shall  find  it  here  !  " 

Miss  Churchill  proceeded  to  submit  this  theory 
to  the  strain  of  facts.  A  large  trunk  stood  in  the 
corner  of  the  room,  and  was  the  first  object  that 
naturally  attracted  Miss  Churchill's  attention.  It 
was  an  ordinary  canvas- covered  trunk,  but  of  more 
than  ordinary  strength  ;  and  it  was  fastened  by  a 
large,  complicated-looking  steel  lock.  It  might 
have  resisted  a  bungler's  attempt  at  opening  it  ; 
but  it  readily  yielded  to  the  slender  twisted  instru- 
ment that  Miss  Churchill  applied  to  it.  Having 
opened  the  lock  and  unfastened  the  strap,  she  lifted 
the  lid.  It  was,  apparently,  filled  with  dresses, 
and  other  articles  of  woman's  attire.  These  Miss 
Churchill  carefully  removed,  and  was  unrewarded 
for  her  pains  ;  for  she  reached  the  bottom  of  the 
trunk  without  discovering  any  thing  that  even 
faintly  supported  her  theory.  She  glanced  at  the 
empty  trunk,  and  then,  taking  a  tape  measure  from 
her  pocket,  measured  it  from  the  outside  and  then 
from  the  inside.  She  was  not  in  the  least  surprised 
that  the  contrasted  measurements  indicated  a  false 
bottom. 

Kneeling  before  the  trunk,  she  carefully  exam- 
ined it,  and  solved  the  secret.  She  pressed  against 
a  small  projection  to  her  right  on  the  side  of  the 
trunk,  and  the  false  bottom  was  lifted  several 
inches  by   concealed    springs.     She    raised    it  still 


MISS  CHURCHILL  RECEIVES  WARNING.      173 

further,  and  discovered,  as  she  expected  to  discover, 
several  small  bundles  of  letters ;  each  package 
carefully  tied  in  a  ribbon.  A  few  loose  papers,  one 
or  two  small  books,  and  a  lock  of  hair,  completed 
the  list  of  the  contents  of  this  hiding-place.  She 
glanced  at  the  front  pages  of  the  books,  and  then 
returned  them  to  their  place.  One  was  a  small 
volume  of  fairy  tales,  and  bore  on  one  of  its  fly- 
leaves the  words  :  "  To  May  Perceval,  from  her 
affectionate  father.  Manchester,  18 — "  Another 
bulkier  volume  was  a  manual  on  Comparative  Physi- 
ology and  Zoology,  and  bore  as  inscription  :  "  To 
Miss    Percy,    from  her  friend,    A.    Dubois,    M.D. 

Cypressville.     August    30,  18 "     There  was  a 

pamphlet  with  the  title  of  "  How  to  live  on  six- 
pence a  day  !  "  There  was  no  dedication  ;  but 
across  the  title  was  written,  in  a  woman's  hand. 
"  How  shall  we  live  without  a  sixpence  ?  " 

Miss  Churchill  was  not  interested  in  this  question. 
She  carried  the  letters  to  a  table,  seated  herself 
before  it,  and  carefully  examined  her  prizes. 

One  package  contained  a  number  of  letters  dated 
years  back  ;  letters  addressed  by  a  loving  father 
and  mother  to  their  child.  Their  only  interest  to 
Miss  Churchill  was,  that  as  far  as  they  went,  they 
verified  the  account  Miss  Percy  had  given  of 
herself. 

Another  small  package  contained  letters  that 
were  also  of  a  domestic  nature.  They  ranged 
through  several  years,  and  were  mostly  stern,  cruel 
answers  to  some  one  who  had  requested  something. 


174  ly^^O  IS  GUILTY? 

Miss  Churchill  read  these  letters  carefully,  and 
made  mental  notes  of  several  significant  para- 
graphs. One  letter  she  boldly  appropriated,  after 
reading  it  through  with  strong  symptoms  of  disgust 
and  horror.  This  bundle  more  than  vindicated 
another  portion  of  Miss  Percy's  account  of  her- 
self. 

Here  is  a  paragraph  from  a  letter  with  a  date 
that  indicated  it  was  nearly  two  years  old  : 

"  Why  repeat  and  repeat  that  you  are  starving  ? 
Starve,  and  don't  bother  me  about  it  !  I  made  you 
an  offer  once,  and  you  refused  it.  As  you  prize 
what  you  call  your  '  innocence  '  so  much,  cling  to 
it  and  starve  !  If  you  want  my  assistance,  you  can 
only  get  it  by  accepting  the  conditions  I  impose. 
Your  ideas  are  too  lofty.  When  they  come  lower 
down,  write  to  me  ;  but  not  till  then  !  " 

The  letters  all  indicated  harsh,  unrelenting 
cruelty  on  one  side  ;  pitiful  pleadirigs  on  the  other. 

Miss  Churchill  tied  up  this  bundle,  minus  one  let- 
ter, and  thrust  it  from  her  with  disgust. 

Among  the  remaining  letters  there  was  one  that 
particularly  interested  her  ;  it  was  addressed  to 
Miss  Gower,  and  had,  probably,  been  stolen  from 
her  with  other  similar  matter  by  the  treacherous 
maid.  The  letter  was  written  in  July  of  the 
previous  year,  '•  On  board  the  steam  yacht  Oriana" 
and  was  to  the  following  effect  : 

"  My  Dear  Sister  :  Your  persistent  obstinacy 
pains  me  to  the  heart !  This  is  the  twelfth  letter  I 
have  v/ritten  to  you  and  received  no  answer.     If  I 


MISS  CHURCHILL   RECEIVES  WARiYING.      I  75 

am  willing  to  forget  the  past,  why  will  you  show  so 
much  unwillingness  ?  The  troubles  you  have 
brought  on  yourself  are  of  your  own  making. 
Years  ago  I  bowed  down  in  adoration,  and  I  feel 
the  same  unquenchable  passion  for  you  now  !  Had 
you  heeded  me,  I  would  have  devoted  my  life  to 
making  you  happy.  But  you  had  provincial  ideas 
then,  and  you  have  them  now.  I  have  tried  to  for- 
get you,  but  you  remain  to  me  what  you  always 
were.  My  poor  Oriana  !  If  you-  only  had  my  ex- 
perience, you  would  discover  how  foolish  and 
isolated  you  are  in  your  prejudices.  I  intend, 
shortly,  to  go  away  on  a  long  pleasure  excursion. 
Come  and  share  it  with  me,  and  if,  after  the  experi- 
ment, you  still  retain  your  old  ideas,  you  can  return 
to  the  life  you  so  much  prize.  If  you  consent,  you 
may  persuade  me  to  any  thing,  even  to  believe  in 
your  sermons  ;  if  you  do  not,  I  shall  continue  in 
my  old  way,  only  the  vise  will  squeeze  harder.  I 
love  you,  and  I  am  determined  to  have  my  way  ; 
your  obstinacy  only  increases  my  ardor.  What  I 
can  not  gain  you  will  lose.  Remember  your  past 
experience,  and  learn  from  it  the  depth  of  my 
passion  and  of  my  determination.  If  you  do  not 
answer  this,  you  will  feel  the  energy  of  the  wretched 
man  whose  love  you  have  so  long  scorned.  For- 
give and  forget,  as  I  do,  and  come  to  the  loving 
arms  of  your  slave  and  worshipper, 

"  Hugo." 

This  was  the  only  letter   that  seemed  even  re- 
motely related  to  the  murdered  man. 


176  11  'HO  JS  G UIL TY? 

"  She  has  surrendered  the  others — if  others  there 
were — to  her  taskmaster,"  was  IMiss  Churchill's  men- 
tal comment.  "  Her  taskmaster  and  his  devoted 
friend  !  " 

She  took  the  liberty  of  appropriating  this  letter, 
also,  and  carefully  deposited  it  in  her  pocket.         • 

Among  the  loose  letters  was  the  following,  with- 
out address  or  date  : 

"  Come  to  me  immediately,  and  you  shall  not 
starve,  if  you  have  courage  and  firmness.  You 
are  welcome  to  your  virtuous  determinations,  but  if 
you  come  to  me  and  obey  my  instructions  to  the 
letter,  you  will  be  the  better  off  by  many  hundreds 
of  dollars,  and  I  will  promise  you  my  unfailing  pro- 
tection. Come,  then,  show  your  spirit  and  escape 
starvation  and  the  gutter  !  I  will  pay 
your  wretched  debts  and  be  a  liberal  uncle  to 
you." 

This  was  the  last  prize  that  Miss  Churchill  won 
and  deposited  in  her  capacious  pocket.  She  re- 
turned the  letters  to  their  hiding-place,  closed  the 
concealing  top,  carefully  restored  the  dresses  and 
other  articles  to  their  places  in  the  trunk,  shut 
down  the  lid,  and  with  the  slender,  twisted  little 
instrument  locked  it. 

She  now  continued  her  examination  of  the 
room  ;  but  after  the  most  thorough  search  discov- 
ered nothing  that  repaid  her  for  the  trouble, 
except  one  mysterious  object  which  was  found  in 
the  desk  near  the  window.  This  object  was  a 
small  rectangular  piece  of  Bristol  board  with  a  line 


MISS  CHURCHILL  RECEIVES  IVARNIXG.       \11 

of  figures  and  a  line  of  words.     The  upper  quarter 
is  reproduced  as  a  specimen  : 

I.  Here. 
I — 2.  Peace. 
2 — I.  Trouble. 
2 — 2.  Danger. 
2 — 3.  Must  see  you. 
3 — 2.  Will  meet  you. 
2 — 4.  Spies. 
4 — 2.  You  are  watched. 
"  Count  five    between   each    number.     Once  every 
nighty 

It  was  suggestive  of  a  child's  game  or  something 
else.  Miss  Churchill  copied  it  in  her  note-book 
and  returned  it  to  its  place  in  the  desk.  A  quaint 
old  bull's-eye  lantern  was  standing  on  the  mantle, 
claiming  admiration  among  other  curious  ornaments. 
Its  owner  would  have  truly  asserted  that  it  was  over 
two  hundred  years  old,  but  a  piece  of  very  modern 
wax-candle  was  contained  within  it,  indicating  that 
its  practical  utility  was  still  unimpaired. 

The  results  of  the  examination  were  not  disap- 
pointing ;  they  fully  supported  Miss  Churchill's 
theory,  even  to  the  extent  of  demonstrating  the 
foolishness  of  my  lady's  maid,  who  had,  evidently, 
never  expected  that  her  room  would  be  searched  ; 
or  suspicion  attach  to  her  as  being  one  of  the 
instruments  in  the  great  crime.  Her  simplicity 
was  deserving  of  contempt,  and  also  of  pity  !  She 
was  only  an  amateur  criminal  after  all  ;  compelled 


178  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

to  enter  the  path  of  crime,  not  from  incUnation, 
but  from  necessity.  Properly  managed,  she  might 
prove  of  great  assistance  in  the  further  work  of 
examination,  as  Miss  Churchill  argued  ;  even  to 
the  extent  of  running  her  own  vain  head  in  the 
noose,  if  such  a  result  could  not  be  avoided  ! 

Miss  Churchill  cast  one  last  glance  around  the 
neat,  tasty  little  room,  and  then  retired  to  enjoy  a 
breath  of  fresh  air  in  the  cupola. 

She  had  no  difficulty  in  reaching  it.  It  was  a 
fair-sized  room,  carpeted  and  furnished,  and  heavy 
with  the  rich  perfume  of  the  flowers  that  rested  on 
brackets  between  the  windows.  An  octagonal 
room,  perched  high  above  the  tree  tops,  and  thus, 
from  its  numerous  windows,  presenting  charming 
views  of  the  surrounding  country. 

Unfortunately,  the  night  was  dark,  and  Miss 
Churchill  had  no  opportunity  for  indulging  her 
artistic  tastes.  But,  at  least,  she  could  satisfy  her 
curiosity  by  gazing  in  the  direction  of  the  house 
in  which  the  murder  was  committed.  Nothing  was 
visible ;  but  an  universal  blackness.  This  dis- 
appointment did  not  disturb  Miss  Churchill,  even 
though  she  had  assisted  her  eyes  with  a  powerful 
field-glass.  She  quietly  seated  herself  in  a  rustic 
chair,  and  watched  with  an  obstinate  patience. 

The  rain  had  ceased  ;  but  the  sky  was  still 
cloudy.  The  wind  had  increased  to  a  gale,  and  its 
icy  breath  was  converting  the  moisture  on  the 
windows  into  incipient  frost.  Under  a  clearer  sky, 
the  orchards  might  have  suffered  ;    but,   at  least, 


MISS  CHURCHILL  RECEIVES  WARNING.       179 

winter  was  giving  its  warning  of  a  very  early 
approach  this  year. 

Miss  Churchill  amused  her  leisure  by  thinking  of 
trivial  subjects  ;  but  with  her  face  turned  always  in 
one  direction.  A  flash  of  light,  high  up,  in  the 
distance,  startled  her  !  One  flash,  and  then  dark- 
ness. She  had  brought  the  old  bull's-eye  lantern 
in  the  cupola,  and  she  now  lighted  the  candle  in  it 
and  waved  it  once  near  the  window,  and  then 
lowered  it.  There  was  an  answering  flash,  and 
thus  another  one  of  her  surmises  was  proved  ;  an 
occupant  of  Woodbine  Villa  could  communicate 
by  signals  with  an  occupant  of  the  old  house. 
Again  the  light  flashed  in  the  distance  :  one,  two  ; 
then  a  pause,  then  one  !  This  signified  "  trouble  ", 
according  to  the  strange  code  of  signals  she  had 
discovered.  With  admirable  presence  of  mind  she 
flashed  the  signals  indicating  "  peace  ",  Again 
the  light  appeared,  one,  tivo — one  !  tivo  ! — one — two  ! 
A  long  pause.  Then  one,  two,  three — one,  tivo,  three; 
and  darkness.  Consulting  the  code,  she  discovered 
that  she  had  been  thus  warned  :  Prepare  for  flight 
—  The  tree  ! 

Telegraphy  in  its  infancy  ;  but  none  the  less 
efi"ectual  on  that  account ! 

She  waited  for  further  information  ;  but  the 
signaling  was  seemingly  over  for  the  night. 
Detailed  information  was,  probably,  concealed  in 
the  tree,  whose  secret  she  had  already  solved. 
With  characteristic  energy,  she  determined  to  finish 
her  night's  work  by  paying  a  visit  to  the  robin's- 


l8o  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

nest  letter  box.  It  might  contain  important  matter 
which  v;ould  be  lost  if  she  waited  till  the  next  day, 
as  her  visit  might  be  anticipated  by  the  foolish 
lady's  maid. 

Thus  far  she  had  been  unexpectedly  successful, 
and  she  was  almost  at  the  heart  of  the  mystery. 

She  retired  to  her  room  to  dress  herself  in 
warmer  attire.  For  this  purpose  she  opened  her 
trunk,  which  had  only  arrived  in  the  morning,  and 
which  she  had  not  had  time  to  unpack.  It  had 
been  especially  made  on  a  plan  of  her  own,  and  the 
lock  was  so  ingeniously  constructed  that  she  would 
have  defied  the  most  expert  burglar  to  pick  it,  or 
open  the  trunk  at  all  without  mutilating  it.  Think- 
ing of  the  trunk  she  had  recently  examined,  she 
smiled  as  she  busied  herself  with  the  lock  of  her 
own. 

To  change  her  attire  was  the  work  of  a  few 
minutes  ;  and  in  less  time,  she  had  cautiously  made 
her  exit  from  the  house,  and  was  sturdily  battling 
with  the  wind  out  in  the  open  air.  But  time  was 
precious  ;  she  had  to  give  the  doctor  notice  that 
her  work  was  ended,  and  he  at  liberty  to  leave  the 
presence  of  the  fascinating  Miss  Percy  ;  and  she 
had,  also,  to  prepare  for  the  labors  of  the  morrow. 
The  icy  wind  could  not  deter  her  ;  let  it  shriek  ever 
so  much  in  the  branches  overhead  ;  she  was  used 
to  this  species  of  work.  A  September  night,  with 
the  chilled  breath  issuing  from  her  lips  like  smoke  ! 
But  it  was  fortunate  ;  for  it  only  incited  her  to 
walk   the   quicker.     Yes  ;  to  her  left  was  the  old 


MISS  CHURCHILL  RECEIVES  IVARNIXG.       i8l 

house  rising  grim  and  black  ;  no  lights  in  its  win- 
dow, and  a  deep  fog  rising  about  its  base.  Were  the 
criminals  as  foolish  as  are  most  criminals,  or  was 
she  unusually  clever  ?  There  was  the  tree  just  in 
front  of  her  ;  she  could  have  selected  it  out  of 
thousands  ;  with  its  rough  moss-grown  trunk  and  its 
huge  overhanging  branches,  tossing  and  writhing 
under  the  tortures  of  the  wind  !  The  robin's-nest 
was  in  the  fork  formed  by  two  branches  ;  and  to 
reach  it,  one  had  to  stand  on  tip-toe,  and  assist 
one's  self  by  clinging  to  one  of  the  down-hanging 
boughs.  There  was  no  need  to  tell  Miss  Churchill 
this  ;  she  grasped  the  branch  with  her  left 
hand,  raised  herself  on  tip-toe,  and  reached  out 
toward  the  nest,  but  did  not  touch  it  ;  for  she 
received  a  heavy  blow  from  some  weapon  that 
struck  her  on  the  side  of  the  head  and  then  glanced 
off  to  her  shoulder  !  She  fell  to  the  ground  without 
uttering  a  sound,  and  a  heavy  branch  of  the  tree 
fell  with  her.  For  a  moment  she  was  stunned  ; 
had  she  received  the  blow  fairly  on  the  top  of  her 
head  she  would  have  been  killed  !  She  lay  passive 
in  the  wet  grass  for  a  time,  and  then  with  an 
effort  rose  to  her  feet,  the  world  swimming  around 
her,  and  the  pain  in  her  shoulder  more  unbearable 
than  the  pain  in  her  head.  The  wind  had  evi- 
dently partially  twisted  off  from  the  parent  tree 
the  overhanging  branch,  and  the  additional  weight 
had  brought  it  down  on  her  head  !  That  was  the 
probable  explanation  of  the  humiliating  accident. 
But  the  brave  Miss  Churchill  would  not  acknowl- 


iSa  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

edge  defeat.  She  bit  her  lips  to  repress  her 
groans,  and  again  stretched  out  her  arm  toward 
the  robin's-nest.  With  an  effort  she  reached  it,  but 
the  expected  letter  was  not  in  it  !  In  her  eager- 
ness she  had  come  too  soon,  and  in  her  dazed  con- 
dition she  forgot  to  examine  the  strange  weapon  that 
had  struck  her. 

Her  head  was  tied  up  in  a  handkerchief  when 
she  entered  the  room  to  bid  the  doctor  good  even- 
ing ;  but  later  in  the  night  she  submitted  herself  to 
his  care,  and  explained  to  him  the  cause  of  her 
accident.  He  congratulated  her  on  her  wonderful 
escape. 

"  Had  the  blow  been  direct,  Miss  Churchill,  it  is 
probable  it  would  have  fractured  the  base  of 
your  skull  !  You  will  recover  long  before  our 
patient  !  " 

"  You  are  disappointed  ?  "  she  asked,  resolutely- 
interesting  herself  in,the  fate  of  another,  while  the 
doctor  was  dressing  her  own  wounds. 

"  She  waked  up  conscious  enough  ;  but  what 
with  her  tears,  shrieks  and  pleadings,  the  other  con- 
dition was  less,  dangerous.  If  the  business  is  not 
cleared  up  in  a  few  days,  I  fear  the  result.  She  is 
in  some  way  mixed  up  with  it,  and  unless  we  can 
positively  reassure  her,  she  will  worry  herself  into  a 
brain-fever.  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  am  discour- 
aged." 

"  Repeat  that  in  two  days  from  now,  doctor, 
and  I  will  answer,  that  you  are  hard  to  please  ! 
You  have  eased  my  pains,  and  in  gratitude  I  will 


MISS  CHURCHILL   RECEIVES  WARNING.      1 83 

ease  your  anxieties  ;  and  the  foolish  Miss  Percy- 
shall  unconsciously  help  me  to  do  so." 

At  that  moment  the  foolish  Miss  Percy  was  in 
her  own  room  gazing  smilingly  down  on  her 
trunk. 

"  She  will  question  me  to-morrow,  and  I  must 
answer — as  much  as  I  dare  !  It  is  safe  on  that  side 
— to-morrow  I  will  make  it  safe  on  the  other  !  And 
the  doctor  is  a  bore  after  all  !  What  a  pity  it  is 
that  the  good  old  times  are  gone  when  a  lover 
could  be  changed  into  a  shower  of  gold  !  And  I 
am  to  pass  the  night  in  my  lady's  room  ;  they  are 
so  sure  of  me  that  they  cease  to  fear  me.  Heigh- 
ho  !  I  wonder  how  long  it  will  be  before  I  can 
sleep  in  a  bed  of  my  own  !  I  wish  I  could  pitch 
away  the  hand  he  squeezed  !  Fortunately  I  can 
sleep  on  a  lounge  as  well  as  in  a  bed,  and  if  he 
must  be  summoned  he  will  not  surprise  me  in  a 
hideous  night-gown  !  " 

Another  morning  dawned,  announcing  a  day  that 
was  to  be  filled  with  surprises.  Miss  Percy  rose 
before  the  sun,  bright  and  refreshed  ;  Miss 
Churchill  rose  with  the  sun,  with  an  acute  head- 
ache and  a  painful  shoulder,  but  also  with  undi- 
minished energy.  She  entered  the  patient's  room 
while  the  doctor  was  still  peacefully  snoring  in  his 
bed,  and  displayed  an  unwonted  friendliness 
toward  Miss  Percy,  which  that  young  lady  appreci- 
ated. 

"  I  almost  envy  you.  Miss  Percy.  Here  I  have 
been  sleeping  on  a  comfortable  bed  and  wake  up 


184  IVHO  IS  GUILTY? 

looking  a  fright,  while  you  sleep  on  a  sofa  and  get 
up  as  bright  as  the  sun." 

"  I'm  used  to  sleeping  anywhere.  I  have  slept 
on  an  uncarpeted  floor  and  very  comfortably 
too  !  " 

"  While  your  uncle  enjoyed  himself  at  his  ease, 
the  brute.     Did  you  know  his  master  ?  " 

"  My  sweet  uncle  wished  to  force  an  acquaintance- 
ship on  me,  but  I  objected,  and  that  angered  him." 

"  Why  did  you  object  ?  was  not  the  master  a 
gentleman  ? " 

"  A  hypocrite  and  a  fiend,  Miss  Churchill.  Had 
I  been  less  obstinate,  I  might  at  the  present  moment 
have  owned  a  little  milliner's  store  in  this  village, 
instead  of  being  a  lady's-maid." 

"  Where  is  he  now  ? " 

"  My  uncle  could  tell  you  better  than  I  !  "  said 
Miss  Percy  with  a  smile. 

"  What  is  his  name  ?  " 

"  Pardon  me  if  I  like  my  life  too  well  to  utter  it," 

"  You  are  not  frank  with  me,"  said  Miss  Churchill, 
careless  now  of  disguise.  "  Suppose  I  could  name 
your  uncle  and  his  master.  Suppose  I  am  bold 
enough  to  venture  into  Max  Newton's  presence, 
and  ask  him  what  he  has  done  with  his  master 
Hugo  Addison? " 

Miss  Churchill  enjoyed  her  triumph  ;  the  sur- 
prise and  dismay  of  the  maid  flattered  her  profes- 
sional vanity. 

**  You  are  a  witch  !  " 

"And   you    a   coward   to    allow  your   uncle   to 


MISS  CHURCHILL  RECEIVES  WARNING.       185 

endanger  your  young  life.  I  will  be  your  friend,  if 
you  tvill  meet  me  half  way.  Think  over  it,  and  when 
I  see  you  again,  your  profit  or  disadvantage  depends 
on  the  words  you  then  speak  to  me  !  " 

There  was  a  sternness  in  Miss  Churchill's  voice, 
and  unusual  dignity  in  her  manners,  as  she  swept 
from  the  room. 

Miss  Percy's  gravity  followed  the  woman  ;  she 
laughed  gayly. 

"  She  is  walking  into  my  trap,  instead  of  me  walk- 
ing into  hers.  It  is  sometimes  good  to  be  thought 
a  fool  !  " 

She  blithely  continued  her  labors  of  dusting  and 
arranging  the  furniture,  glancing  now  and  then 
toward  the  door  ;  and  now  and  then  toward  the 
looking-glass  ;  a  laughing  type  of  amiable  malice. 
Miss  Churchill's  condescension  had  conquered  even 
her  anxieties,  and,  with  her  destiny  trembling  in  the 
balance,  she  recklessly  surrendered  herself  to  the 
enjoyment  of  the  minute  ;  her  suppressed  mirth 
accumulating  until  she  dissipated  it  in  a  burst  of 
of  light,  ringing,  musical  laughter. 

When  the  doctor  came  to  pay  his  morning  visit  to 
the  room,  her  face  had  assumed  its  seriousness  ;  but 
bright  points  of  mischief  were  still  dancing  m  her 
eyes.  A  servant  followed  the  doctor,  carrying 
a  salver  on  which  was  food  for  the  sick 
woman. 

With  an  anxious  face,  the  doctor  gently  roused  the 
sleeper,  who  started  into  a  sitting  position  at  his 
slight  touch,  and  stared  wildly  around   her.     Miss 


1 86  IVBO  IS  G UIL TV? 

Percy  now  waved  him  aside,  and  took  his  place  near 
her  mistress. 

"  You  must  have  had  frightful  dreams  last  night, 
Miss  Gower.  And  you  made  me  so  nervous  that  I 
sat  up  with  you,  and  now  have  called  the  doctor  to 
my  aid  !  " 

The  calm,  smiling  face  of  the  maid  reassured  the 
mistress  ;  she  sighed,  but  the  wild  expression  faded 
from  her  eyes. 

'*  Have  I  been  here  long  ? " 

"  Only  since  I  put  you  into  bed  last  night.  I 
think  you  must  have  caught  cold  playing  croquet 
yesterday  morning." 

"  Is  /le  here  ?  " 

With  fine  instinct,  the  maid  divined  the  mistress's 
thoughts,  and,  to  the  doctor's  admiration,  soothed 
them. 

"  It  was  a  false  rumor.  It  was  not  his  yacht  at 
all  ;  and  it  is  now  supposed  that  the  first  rumor 
was  correct,  and  that  it  was  lost  in  the  waves." 

The  mistress  sighed  heavily,  and  sank  back  on 
the  pillow,  relieved  in  heart  and  mind,  and  too 
weary  to  analyze  the  comforting  statement. 

"  It  was  a  strange  dream  !  " 

"  A  bad  night-mare  !  But  you  must  take  a  little 
nourishment,  and  then  try  and  sleep  again  ;  for 
Captain  Travers  is  anxious  to  have  his  revenge." 

The  mistress  flushed  at  the  name,  quietly 
accepted  nourishment  from  the  hands  of  the  maid, 
and  then,  like  a  tired  child,  fell  into  a  peaceful 
sleep,  with  a  spoonful  of  untasted  food  at  her  lips. 


MISS  CHURCHILL  RECEIVES  IVARXIMG.       187 

The  doctor's  admiration  was  unbounded. 

"  It  was  a  stroke  of  genius  !  "  he  exclaimed, 
enthusiastically,  "  the  one  only  remedy  applied  at  the 
one  proper  instant  of  time." 

"  I  am  working  for  my  new  position  !  "  she  said, 
demurely. 

"  And  you  shall  have  it,  I  pledge  you  my  word. 
But  you  must  first  have  full  confidence  in  me  and  I 
in  you." 

"  Must  we  exchange  references,  sir  ?  " 

**  Rather  we  must  be  frank.  I  am  your  friend. 
Tell  me,  then,  all  you  know." 

"  I  know  I  am  very  wretched  and  of  a  very 
jealous  nature.  I  am  a  foolish  woman  ;  I  was  born 
independent,  and  I  have  the  ugly  trick  of  imagin- 
ing that  by  birth  and  education  I  am  the  equal  of 
any  one.  There  are  certain  rumors  in  the  village 
which  connect  my  name  with  one  whom  the  world 
honors  ;  my  anger  was  stilled  in  remembering  that 
my  reputation  was  blasted  by  a  great  genius  whom 
I — I — really  cared  for  !  For  the  first  time  in  my  life 
I  saw  my  ideal  of  a  hero  realized  in  him — and — and 
I  was  foolishly  happy,"  she  said,  with  a  deep  flush, 
that  extended  even  to  her  pretty  ears. 

Barring  that  he  felt  that  the  colored  pattern  on  his 
dressing  gown  did  not  match  his  complexion,  and 
that  a  hero  lost  some  of  his  dignity  in  slippers,  the 
doctor  received  the  statement  in  calm  satisfaction. 

"  You  are  a  foolish,  impetuous  child  !  "  he  said, 
good  naturedly.     "  But  I  like  your  frankness." 

"  Foolish   to   the   extent   of  becoming  insanely 


1 8 8  IV HO  IS  G UIL TV? 

jealous  ;  of  drugging  the  woman  whom  I  stupidly 
regarded  as  my  rival." 

Ah  !  how  complex  is  woman's  nature.  Here  was 
a  young  creature,  a  decidedly  pretty  young  woman, 
who  had  allowed  herself  to  commit  a  crime  out  of 
her  love  for  a  man  of  his  sedate  age.  Not  that  he 
was  old  !  At  fifty  a  man  is  in  the  prime  of  vigorous 
life  !  Age  was  not  in  the  question.  But  it  was  sur- 
prising that  a  young  creature  of  her  gayety  should 
fall  in  love  with  a  person  of  his  gravity  of  character. 
For  once  Mr.  Morris  was  right ! 

"  As  I  understand  you,  my  child,  your  evil  treat- 
ment of  your  mistress  was  due  to  jealousy,  and 
nothing  else  ?" 

"  To  jealousy  alone.  I  thought  the  opium  would 
make  her  look  ugly,  and  that  my  hero " 

The  reappearance  of  Miss  Churchill  interrupted 
what  promised  to  be  a  very  intimate  conversation, 
and  gave  the  abashed  maid  an  opportunity  to  retire. 
But  before  leaving  the  room,  she  asked  : 

"  Could  I  in  safety  leave  my  mistress  for  a  couple 
of  hours  ? " 

**  I  shall  be  here  for  that  length  of  time,"  said 
the  doctor,  after  receiving  an  approving  nod  from 
the  new-comer. 

'*  And  please  do  not  forget  what  I  have  said," 
added  ]\Iiss  Churchill.  "  To-day  you  must  decide 
whether  I  am  to  be  your  friend  or  enemy." 

"  I  am  not  likely  to  forget.  My  absence  is  con- 
nected with  the  subject  about  which  you  intend  to 
speak.     Let  her  follow  me  !  "  thought  Miss  Percy, 


MISS  CHURCHILL  RECEIVES  WARNING.      189 

as  she  ascended  to  her  room.  "  She  will  only  rub 
her  nose  against  a  rock  this  time.  If  /  had  prepared 
the  tree-branch  she  wouldn't  have  escaped  with  a 
scratch.     But  men  are  born  fools  !  " 

"  She  is  going  to  see  the  man  Newton,"  said 
Miss  Churchill  to  the  doctor.  '^'^He  is  the  murderer, 
and  she  is  trying  to  escape  from  his  claws.  We 
have  evidence  to  show  that  he  is  deeply  interested 
in  the  crime  ;  but  none  to  prove  that  he  was 
directly  concerned  in  it.  While  free,  he  may  com- 
promise himself  by  some  hasty  act  ;  in  jail,  we  are 
hopeless." 

"  But  if  Miss  Percy " 

"  She  can  tell  us  nothing  bearing  on  this  one 
vital  point.  The  man  is  too  cunning  to  trust  the 
secret,  even  with  her.  He  has  managed  to  blind 
the  very  detective  who  is  always  beside  him.  He 
is  a  criminal  of  brains,  and  they  are  the  worst  of 
all  !  " 

"  Yet  you  made  a  very  definite  promise,  and 
seemed  to  have  great  hope." 

"  I  have  it  still ;  but  the  more  I  think  over  the 
subject,  the  more  perplexed  I  grow.  If  I  could 
only  discover  the  reason  of  the  man's  hatred  to 
Miss  Gower  ;  or  if  I  could  find  the  man  Draper,  I 
should  solve  the  one  doubt  that  confuses  me.  I 
wrote  some  instructions  for  the  use  of  Captain 
Travers,  and  I  sent  him  to  the  city  ;  partly  to  help 
us,  and  partly  to  keep  him  in  ignorance  of  the 
danger  hovering  over  his  friend." 

**  Have  you  heard  from  him  ? " 


I  go  IVHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  One  of  his  directions  was  to  make  inquiries 
concerning  the  murdered  man's  yacht,  the  Oriana. 
He  was  to  visit  the  dockyard  in  which  it  was 
repaired,  and  also  find  out  where  it  is  now.  1  have 
just  received  his  telegram  on  this  subject.  Here  it 
is."  Miss  Churchill  read  from  the  paper  in  her 
hand  :  "  '  Yacht  nowhere.  Not  been  seen  since 
repaired.  Not  in  harbor.  Will  write.'  That  is 
the  captain's  message." 

"  Might  I  ask  why  you  are  interested  in  the 
yacht  ?" 

"  I  am  not  accustomed  to  anticipate  my  actions 
by  describing  them  ;  but  for  once  I  will  break 
through  my  custom.  From  the  start,  I  have 
believed  Max  Newton  to  be  the  murderer  !  " 

"  Science  irrefragably  pointed  to  the  same  con- 
clusion," said  the  doctor,  pompously. 

Miss  Churchill  continued,  without  heeding  the 
interruption  : 

"  Max  Newton  is  the  murderer !  Why  then 
should  Mr.  Draper  so  mysteriously  disappear  ?  He 
has  no  reason  of  his  own  ;  no  reason  to  desert  the 
woman  with  whom  he  has  been  intimate  ;  whether 
innocently  or  guiltily,  I  can  not  say  !  But  if  we 
suppose  he  possessed  some  knowledge,  the  publica- 
tion of  which  would  compromise  Max  Newton,  we 
have  an  explanation.  The  murderer  removed  him 
from  his  path,  either  by  committing  another  blood- 
crime,  or  by  secreting  his  victim.  Reaching  this 
point,  my  mind  naturally  reverted  to  the  yacht, 
and  to  find  it  was  a  part  of  the  captain's  instruc- 


MTSS  CHURCHILL   RECEIVES  WARNING.      191 

tions.  If  it  were  readily  found,  I  was  willing  to 
dismiss  it  from  my  mind  ;  as  it  was  not  readily 
found,  I  have  sent  telegrams  to  the  city  ordering 
skilled  agents  to  discover  its  whereabouts." 

"  Your  argument  is  weighty,  and  I  am  surprised 
that  I  did  not  think  of  it,"  said  the  doctor,  thought- 
fully. 

"  As  to  the  will  business  that  so  troubles  Detect- 
ive Sharpe,  it  is  easily  solved.  As  the  confidant  of 
his  master,  Max  Newton  knew  that  a  fresh  will, 
disinheriting  Miss  Gower,  was  to  be  signed.  In 
his  inexplicable  hatred  of  our  patient,  he  killed  his 
master  at  the  very  moment  when  the  circumstantial 
evidence  would  tell  against  Miss  Gower  !  " 

"  But  why  was  the  crime  committed  at  all  ?  " 

"  I  will  give  you  the  sum  of  my  information. 
Master  and  man  were  both  creatures  of  strong 
passions  ;  despite  his  local  reputation,  Mr.  Addison 
was  a  strong  sensualist — I  have  read  one  of  his 
letters,  and  it  supports  what  I  have  elsewhere 
learned  ;  the  servant  gained  power  over  him  by 
consenting  to  be  his  vile  agent  ;  even  attempting 
to  lure  his  own  niece  into  sin.  Master  and  man 
quarreled,  as  was  inevitable  under  the  circum- 
stances. And,  further,  the  servant  is  avaricious ; 
the  desire  to  sell  his  own  niece  proves  this.  They 
quarrel ;  the  master  is  anxious  to  cast  off  the  serv- 
ant, who  has  become  a  burden  on  him  ;  he  wants 
to  make  his  selections  himself ;  he  refuses  to  pay 
his  servant  his  price  ;  these  reasons  are  amply  suf- 
ficient to  account  for  the  murder,  especially  when 


192  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

we  remember  the  ten  thousand  dollars,  which  we 
know,  and  the  many  thousand  dollars  of  which  we 
do  not  know,  that  fell  into  the  murderer's  hands. 
The  master  was  a  careless  spendthrift,  caring  only 
for  his  pleasures ;  the  servant  had  passed  that 
stage,  and  cared  only  for  his  self-interest.  Money 
was  the  principal  cause  of  the  murder,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  secondary  causes  ;  and  Max 
Newton  is  the  only  one  that  profited  by  it  !  To- 
day I  intend  to  devote  to  studying  and  investigating 
this  aspect  of  the  subject." 

"  Can  I  be  of  any  help  ? " 

"  Yes  ;  you  would  oblige  me  if  you  would  call 
on  Detective  Sharpe  and  quietly  discover  if  he  has 
blundered  on  any  truths.  I  expected  to  see  him 
in  triumph  here  before  sunrise  with  an  order  of 
arrest.  His  absence  demonstrates  that  he  is  losing 
his  faith  in  his  theory.  I  shall  pay  my  first  visit  to 
Mr.  Terms  ;  you  had  better  wait  the  return  of  the 
foolish  maid." 

"  You  do  not  think  she  is  guilty  ? "  asked  the 
doctor,  with  an  anxiety  that  was  stronger  than  the 
attempt  made  to  conceal  it. 

"  I  think  we  are  acquainted  with  the  worst  crime 
of  that  wretched  young  woman  ;  and  if  she  is  not 
compliant  to  my  wishes  sne  shall  suffer  for  it  !  She 
shall  find  that  an  attempt  at  poison  is  not  a  slight 
thing  !  " 

The  doctor  saw,  in  a  flash,  the  young  lady  on  the 
witness  stand  explaining  the  reason  for  her  actions, 
and,  in  her  simplicity,  relating  the  scandals  that  he 


MISS  CHURCHILL  RECEIVES  IV ARMING.       193 

had  unwittingly  brought  upon  her.  He  saw  his 
name  gracing  the  head-lines  of  all  the  morning 
papers,  and  anticipated  the  editorials,  wherein 
would  be  discussed  how  "  a  distinguished  citizen,  a 
man  of  universal  reputation  in  his  profession,  de- 
liberately forgot  his  noble  calling  ;  tampered  with 
the  affections  of  a  young  maiden,  blasted  her 
character,  and  then,  in  his  Don  Juan  indifference, 
goaded  her  into  crime  !  "  He  had  been  seen  with 
his  arm  around  her  waist  ;  she  had  been  seen  in 
his  bed-room.  The  day  was  cold,  but  the  doctor 
mopped  the  perspiration  from  his  forehead  with 
his  handkerchief  and  concealed  his  face  at  the  same 
time. 

"  I  think.  Miss  Churchill,  that  the  young  lady 
will  tell  all  she  knows." 

"  A  taste  of  jail  will  cure  her  obstinacy  !  She 
is  too  dainty  to  suffer  that  disgrace  long." 

"  She  is  impetuous.  Miss  Churchill,  but  not 
chronically  bad.  In  such  cases,  a  little  toleration  is 
the  wisest  course." 

"  But  an  attempt  at  poison,  doctor  !  " 

"  Hardly  that.  She  was,  perhaps,  ordered  by 
her  cruel  taskmaster  to  keep  his  victim  uncon- 
scious, so  that  she  could  not  interfere  with  his 
plans  !"  said  the  doctor,  with  a  flash  of  inspiration. 

"  It  is  very  probable,"  answered  Miss  Churchill, 
thoughtfully. 

"  It  is  certain  !  "  retorted  the  doctor,  persuasively. 
"  I  have  thought  the  matter  over,  but  until  now 
have  not  ventured  to  interrupt  your  investigations 


194  ^liO  IS  GUILTY? 

with  my  conclusions.  You  will  find,  Miss  Churchill, 
that  science  is  right  here  as  elsewhere,  and  that 
from  Miss  Gower's  own  lips  you  will  hear  the 
justification  of  my  deduction.  And  we  shall 
speedily  know,"  he  added,  turning  to  the  bed 
where  the  sleeper  was  smiling  in  her  sleep  and 
softly  murmuring  to  herself.  "  Thanks  to  the  fore- 
thought of  Miss  Percy,  the  patient  has  taken  the 
most  favorable  turn." 

"  Her  dreams  are  happy." 

"  She  is  evidently  thinking  of  our  friend,  the 
captain." 

"  Is  his  name  Geoffrey  ?  "  asked  Miss  Churchill, 
dryly.  "She  is  babbling  <  Geoffrey  ',  '  dear  Geof- 
frey,' while  his  name  is  Frank." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A    VISIT    AND    A     DISAPPEARANCE. 

AS  if  guided  by  a  conscience  that  was  free  from 
reproach,  Miss  Percy  dehberately  made  her 
exit  from  the  front-door  of  Woodbine  Villa,  and 
quietly  stood  on  the  veranda  steps  to  pull  on  her 
gloves,  although  she  was  aware  that  her  actions 
were  observed  by  a  pair  of  shrewd  eyes  from  the 
window  above. 

"  I  wish  she  would  follow  me,"  she  thought, 
smiling  down  on  her  gloves.  "  It  would  be  a  relax- 
ation to  trot  her  around  the  village  before  I  faced 
the  ogre.  Daring  to  dictate  to  me,  who  could 
crush  her  life  out  by  lifting  a  linger  !  But  I  sup- 
pose it  pays  in  the  long  run  to  be  as  foolish  as  they 
all  are,  especially  since  the  wise  ones  are  in  the 
minority." 

Pausing  for  a  moment  to  pluck  some  wild  flowers, 
of  which  she  was  passionately  fond,  she  resumed 
her  quiet  walk,  never  once  glancing  behind  to  see 
if  she  were  followed,  or  even  caring  to  see.  She 
was  as  calm  as  if  no  danger  could,  by  any  possi- 
bility, overwhelm  her ;  self-assured,  self-satisfied 
and  self-respecting.  Passing  near  a  certain  tree, 
she  glanced  at  it  for  a  moment  with  an  amused  ex- 


196  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

pression  on  her  face.  A  massive  branch  had  fallen 
from  the  parent  tree,  and  now  lay  cumbering  the 
ground. 

"  Her  head  was  hard  !  "  was  Miss  Percy's  com- 
ment as  she  passed  on  her  way. 

She  entered  the  secret  tunnel,  but  this  time, 
when  she  closed  the  shell  of  stone  over  her,  she 
fastened  it  with  a  massive  staple  and  bar.  Mr. 
Newton  was  impatiently  awaiting  her  in  the  room 
above  the  vault,  and  the  sight  of  the  fresh  flowers 
in  her  hand  did  not  add  to  his  good  humor. 

"  Do  you  know  you  have  kept  me  waiting 
again  ? " 

"  Do  you  know  that  you  are  losing  your  senses,  by 
speaking  of  such  a  trifle  ?  I  was  followed,  or  at 
least  imagined  so,  and  I  acted  to  throw  the  spy  off 
her  guard  !  " 

"  Is  she  still  active  ?  "  he  asked  with  a  frown. 

"  I  warned  you,  and  you  laughed  at  my  warning, 
my  uncle  !  " 

"  Because  you  are  always  warning.  But  I  de- 
tected her  meddling  fingers  last  night,  in  flashing  the 
wrong  signal.     I  gave  her  a  lesson." 

"  It  missed  its  aim  ;  but  she  ought  to  be  obliged  to 
you  for  giving  her  an  excuse  for  explaining  why 
one  of  her  shoulders  is  higher  than  the  other  !  A 
bruise  on  the  head,  a  bruise  on  the  shoulder,  and 
you  have  one  crime  less  to  answer  for." 

"  One  crime  more  if  she  does  not  keep  out  of 
my  way  !  Why  were  you  not  in  the  place  to  see  my 
signals  ?  " 


A    VISIT  AND  A  DISAPPEARANCE.         1 97 

"  Because  I  am  not  allowed.  I  am  suspected 
and  watched.  They  have  a  strong  suspicion  that 
I  have  tampered  with  your  friend,    Miss  Gower  !  " 

"  Curse  her  !  "  interrupted  the  old  man,  fiercely. 
"  I  wish  that  it  were  possible  to  drag  her  still 
lower.    I  would  have  killed  her  but  for  that  hope." 

"  You  are  amiable  !  "  answered  Miss  Percy 
calmly.  "  But  to  continue  :  they  also  suspect,  that  in 
some  mysterious  way  I  am  connected  with  you. 
They  opened  my  trunk  !  " 

"You  had  nothing  there,  I  hope?"  he  asked, 
sternly. 

"  It  was  very  likely  !  Nothing  but  the  wretched 
dresses  which  you  avariciously  allow  me  to  wear." 

"  We  will  speak  of  that  in  a  moment." 

"  If  I  live  one  of  your  hours,  then,  I  shall  see  the 
end  of  the  world  !  "  she  said,  dryly.  "  But,  in 
sober  earnest,  I  am  beginning  to  be  afraid.  Even 
the  doctor  peeps  through  the  keyhole  of  my  door, 
and  plays  the  spy  to  my  snores.  I  have  lost  my 
chance  with  him  as  with  every  thing  else.  It  isn't 
likely  he  would  have  a  poisoner  in  his  house, 
especially  when  he  is  so  rich  !  And  so  I  must 
give  up  the  idea  of  being  Mrs.  Dr.  Dubois  and  of 
riding  in  my  carriage  !  " 

"  So  much  the  better,  as  you  will  find  it  safer  to 
go  with  me." 

"  But  when  are   you    going.     The    delay    makes 
me  as  nervous  as  a  woman  !  " 
"  You  spoke  differently  when  you  were  last  here  !  " 

"  Because    I    hoped    differently.     My   one   only 


1 98  WHO  IS  GUIL  T  V? 

absorbing  idea  now  is  to  get  away  as  soon  as 
possible." 

"  Wliile  I  protect  you,  you  idiot,  you  may  defy 
the  world.  But  my  work  is  done,"  he  said,  with  a 
malicious  grin,  "  and  I  shall  probably  vanish  to- 
night." 

"But  how  ?  " 

He  did  not  immediately  answer  her  question, 
but  spoke  rather  as  if  communing  with  him- 
self. 

"  I  have  forgotten  nothing.  S/ie  is  brought  down 
from  pride  to  degradation,  more  dishonored  and 
vile  than  she  feared  to  be.  A  public  by-word,  a 
blot,  an  ulcer,  a  scab,  every  thing  that  she  deserves 
to  be  !  To-morrow,  despite  the  efforts  of  her 
friends,  the  newspapers  will  receive  her  name,  and 
the  next  day  the  immoral  woman  of  local  fame  will 
be  known  through  the  country  as  a  murderess.  Let 
them  help  it  if  they  can  !  " 

"  But  if  she  disproves  this  ?  " 

**  She  is  welcome,  if  she  can  !  But  the  stigma  is 
attached  to  her  ;  she  is  degraded  in  her  own  proud 
eyes  ;  she  will  writhe  and  shrink  under  the  torment, 
whether  she  is  doomed  to  hang,  or  whether  she 
lives  to  infinity.  That  is  all  I  care.  Her  fame, 
for  which  she  so  foolishly  fought,  is  besmirched, 
blasted  irrevocably  ;  I  h-ave  made  her  life  a  hell, 
and  she  is  welcome  to  live  in  it  or  die  in  it,  even 
though  I  have  blasted  my  own  soul  in  conquering 
her  !  " 

The  handsome  face  was  contorted  with  vindictive 


A    VISIT  AND  A  DISAPPEARANCE.         199 

passion  till  it  might  have  served  as  the  portrait  of 
a  fiend. 

"  Having  done  so  much,  you  mean  to  remain 
here  ?  " 

"  Having  done  so  much,  I  am  exulting  In  it ; 
exulting  in  the  knowledge  that,  even  if  she  escapes 
the  rope,  she  will  be  penniless  in  her  isolation.  What 
money  remains  I  take  with  me ;  the  branded 
harlot  and  murderess  will  starve  !  " 

"  Yoii  are  wasting  the  time  now,"  said  Miss  Percy, 
impatiently.  "  The  point  that  most  concerns  me 
is,  how  am  I  going  to  save  my  own  neck  ? " 

"  You  have  decided  to  go  with  me  ?  " 

"  The  prospect  is  not  attractive,  but  I  can't  help 
myself,"  she  answered,  with  a  shrug  of  the 
shoulders. 

"  The   yacht  will  come  here  to-night." 

"  I  thought  you  had  sent  it  away." 

"  You  idiot  !  "  he  hissed.  "  I  tell  you  the  yacht 
will  be  here  to-night.  It  will  anchor  out  in  the 
river  ;  but  at  a  signal  it  will  send  a  boat  to  shore  to 
take  us  away." 

"  But  how  am  I  to  bring  my  trunk  ?  " 

**  Worse  than  idiot  !  it  is  not  a  time  to  think  of 
such  matters.  Take  a  few  necessary  articles, 
meet  me  here,  and  leave  the  rest  to  me." 

"  I  hope  we  are  not  going  to  have  ///;;/  as  a  com- 
panion," said  Miss  Percy,  significantly. 

"  He  leaves  as  we  enter  !  "  answered  the  old  man, 
with  a  harsh  laugh.  "  With  a  weight  at  his  heels,  I 
send  him  to  his  friends." 


2O0  IVHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  After  your  promise  ?  "  she  asked,  with  a  frown. 

"  My  promise  was  not  to  harm  a  hair  of  his 
head.  I  will  keep  the  promise.  I  surrender  him 
to  the  fishes  unhurt !  Do  you  object,  my  lady 
Innocaice  ? " 

"  Again  I  am  powerless." 

"  And  again  I  warn  you  to  cast  aside  your  stupid 
prejudices.  You  had  a  taste  once  of  my  opinion 
on  that  score.  I  will  not  tolerate  a  weakness  on 
your  part ;  but  I  will  assist  you  in  a  revenge.  If 
you  feel  like  giving  the  doctor  a  lesson,  invite  him 
here,  or  lure  him  here,  and  I  will  blow  him  up 
with  the  rest  of  the  building  !  " 

"  Why  do  this  ?  " 

"  As  a  display  of  fireworks  at  my  departure  !  I 
should  have  brought  the  cursed  woman  here,  did  I 
not  prefer  that  she  should  live  !  " 

"  What  is  that  strange  noise  ? "  asked  Miss 
Percy,  nervously. 

The  noise  sounded  like  faint,  muffled  cries  for 
help  ;  as  of  a  person  struggling  with  suffocation. 

"  That  is  an  obstinate  friend  of  mine  saying  his 
prayers  !  He  knows  more  than  is  good  for  him, 
and  he  is  a  part  of  the  fireworks." 

"  Your  humor  is  grimmer  than  usual  to-day  ! 
You  must  be  happy  !  " 

"  I  am  !  Bring  your  doctor  here  and  try  me.  Or 
the  spy  who  escaped  from  my  clutches  !  And  take 
a  warning  for  yourself  ;  remain  firm  to  the  last, 
and  I  am  your  friend  ;  and  by  the  blood  that  stains 
my  hand  1  promise  to  take  you  with  me  at  any  cost, 


A    VISIT  AND  A  DISAPPEARANCE.         20 i 

and  let  you  live  in  luxury  !  Utter  one  word  of 
treachery,  or  lead  me  to  believe  you  intend  to  utter 
it,  and  I  will  dash  out  your  brains,  even  though  it 
costs  me  my  life  !  You  know  what  I  have  done  ; 
you  know  what  I  can  do  !  " 

"  It  isn't  likely  that  I  should  play  the  traitor  at 
the  last  moment,  with  nothing  to  gain  but  a  jail  or 
worse  !  "  she  answered,  contemptuously. 

"  I  fear  your  moods  of  sentimental  innocence  !  " 

"  They  died  the  moment  you  took  me  in  hand  ! 
What  hopes  has  a  poisoner,  even  when  playing 
the  part  of  traitor  ?  They  knozu  me  to  be  such,  and 
what  mercy  can  I  expect  from  them  ?  Less  even 
than  from  you." 

"  I  will  keep  my  word  to  you." 

"  It  is  amusing  to  think  so,  since  you  are  all  on 
whom  I  am  to  depend  !  At  what  time  to-night  am 
I  to  meet  you  here  ?  " 

**  Between  eleven  and  twelve.  The  yacht  will  be 
here  at  the  latter  hour  ;  or,  perhaps,  a  little  later  ; 
but  here  it  will  be  !  " 

"  But  if  we  should  be  surprised." 

''  We  will  be  all  blown  up  with  the  tower,  my 
sweet  ;  remember  that  !  "  he  said,  with  a 
malicious  grin.  "  Remember  that  !  Remember 
that  !  " 

"  You  are  still  harping  on  the  old  subject,"  she 
answered  wearily.  "  I  did  not  blame  you  before, 
but  at  this  late  hour  it  is  ridiculous  !  How  shall 
we  go  out  ?  " 

"  By  the  secret  tunnel  to  the  shore.     What  I  wish 


20  2  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

to  take  away  is  already  there,  what  I  leave  behind — 
my  curses — the  woman  is  welcome  to." 

The  old  man  repeated  his  directions,  carefully, 
elaborately  ;  and  the  changes  that  might  be 
necessary  in  change  of  circumstances.  His  final 
directions  and  intentions  he  whispered  in  a  low 
voice,  as  if  fearing  even  the  stone  walls  might 
hear.  She  listened  with  earnest,  intelligent  face, 
and,  at  times,  her  wit  anticipated  his  words.  At 
the  end  of  a  half  hour  she  left  him,  and  emerged 
from  the  gloom  into  the  open  air. 

"  I  suppose  this  is  called  seeing  life  !  "  she 
exclaimed,  after  bidding  the  old  man  farewell,  and 
while  inhaling  the  fresh,  exhilarating  air.  "  Cain 
was  the  first  murderer  ;  I  wonder  who  will  have  the 
credit  of  being  the  last  !  And  I  could  treat  my 
good  doctor  to  a  dose  of  gunpowder  !  Let  him 
pursue  my  shrinking  coyness  to  the  secret  tower, 
and  when  the  foolish  beast  dreamed  of  his  triumph 
spring  the  mine,  and  let  his  soul  loose  !  It  is 
tempting,  but  I  fear  a  trifle  out  of  my  line  !  " 

She  laughed  nervously,  and  after  walking  a  little 
distance,  seated  herself  by  the  wayside  and  pressed 
her  hands  to  her  head.  She  was  the  one  living 
figure  in  the  autumn  landscape  ;  an  insignificant 
spot  of  color  against  the  huge  tree  under  which 
she  was  sitting. 

Mechanically  she  gathered  a  few  of  the  brightly 
colored  fallen  leaves,  and  held  them  idly  in  her 
hand. 

"  This   is  my  sentimental  innocence,"  she  mur- 


A    VISIT  AND  A  DISAPPEARANCE.         203 

mured  bitterly.  "  Always  alone,  always  without 
love,  always  without  sympathy.  I  wish  I  were 
somebody  else.  I  suppose  the  doctor  would  call 
this  remorse.  The  doctor !  The  doctor  !  Even 
that  is  hateful  to  me  now  !  " 

She  tossed  the  leaves  to  the  ground  and  stared 
abstractedly  down  on  them.  Suddenly  she  smiled  : 
"  I  will  keep  away  the  tears  by  thinking  of  the  gun- 
powder !  " 

She  rose,  but  before  going  homeward,  she  walked 
to  the  railway  station  and  sent  a  telegraphic  mes- 
sage. 

"It  is  still  remorse!"  she  murmured,  while 
filling  out  the  blank.  "  Always  remorse,  with  deso- 
lation as  my  reward  !  " 

The  message  was  directed  to  "  Captain  Frank 
Travers,  53  X Avenue,  N City  !  " 

Miss  Churchill,  in  the  meantime,  was  enjoying  an 
interesting  conversation  with  Mr.  Terms. 

The  old  lawyer  had  received  her  with  great  affa- 
bility ;  and  when  she  disclosed  her  profession  and 
her  desires,  expressed  himself  as  willing  to  share  his 
knowledge  with  her  to  the  utmost. 

"  As  I  told  Detective  Sharpe  yesterday.  Miss 
Churchill,  I  started  with  the  idea  that  Mr.  Addison 
was  the  victim  of  a  heartless  crime,  and  I  still 
cling  to  the  belief,  though  I  have  modified  my 
opinion.  I  rejoice  that,  for  the  honor  of  your 
sex,  events  have  demonstrated  that  the  party  whose 
hands  are  stained  with  blood  is  not  a  female.  I'm 
now  persuaded  that  my  client  was  murdered  for  his 


204  ^VHO  IS  GUILTY? 

money,  and  that  a  certain  dependent  is  the  mur- 
derer. It  is  also  demonstrated  beyond  doubt  that 
my  client  was  a  sensualist,  and  that  a  reckless  indul- 
gence in  wine,  women  and  speculation  knocked  the 
foundation  from  under  a  very  noble  fortune.  The 
fortune  is  dissippated,  but  notwithstanding  this 
fact,  there  is  still  a  good  sum  of  money  and 
some  very  valuable  articles  of  convertible  property, 
which  would  pay  an  evil-hearted  man  for  a  crime, 
still  to  be  accounted  for.  Without  waste  of  words, 
Miss  Churchill,  these  are  the  conclusions  I  have 
reached  after  investigation  and  study:  I  believe 
master  and  man  were  bound  together  by  the  closest 
ties,  but  whereas  the  master's  tie  was  that  of  love, 
the  man's  tie  was  that  of  self-interest.  Detective 
Sharpe  told  me  yesterday  that  in  the  doctor's  opinion 
Addison  was  poisoned,  and  that  in  addition  he  had 
not  only  found  the  drug-store  where  the  poison  was 
purchased,  but  he  has  also  identified  the  man  who 
purchased  it,  and  that  man,  Miss  Churchill,  was  Max 
Newton.  Max  Newton  is  the  guilty  party,  and  he 
intends  to  arrest  him  at  the  earliest  opportunity." 

"  Then  we  are  all  agreed  at  last  ?  "  said  Miss 
Churchill,  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  Should  the  scoundrel  vanish " 

"  You  may  be  sure  that  the  wretch  will  not 
escape.  Detective  Sharpe,  with  all  his  faults,  is  not 
a  man  to  suffer  that  ;  neither  is  he  unwise  enough  to 
strike  before  he  is  sure  of  his  game.  I  am  so  satis- 
fied of  that,  that  I  intend  to  leave  the  arrest  to  my 
confrere    and    busy  myself   with   another   matter. 


A    VISIT  AND  A  DISAPPEARANCE.         205 

every  thing  is  now  satisfactory,  except  a  link  in  the 
chain  of  evidence.  This  I  will  supply  by  going  to 
the  city  myself.  My  presence  will  be  more  valu- 
able there  than  here.  May  I  ask  for  the  liberty  of 
writing  a  note  here  ?  " 

"Certainly,  madam,  certainly,"  said  Mr.  Terms, 
with  great  gallantry.  "  My  desk  is  at  your  dis- 
posal." 

Miss  Churchill  wrote  the  following  letter  : 

"  Dear  Dr.  Dubois  : 

"  Every  thing  is  so  satisfactoryhere  that  I  intend 
to  run  down  to  the  city,  to  personally  look  after  the 
yacht  Oriana.  Detective  Sharpe  is  on  the  right 
track  at  last,  and  I  leave  the  arrest  of  the  criminal 
to  him — out  of  courtesy  to  his  sex  !  There  is  noth- 
ing for  you  to  do  in  my  absence,  but  keep  a  sharp 
look-out  on  Miss  Percy,  and  get  your  patient  in  a 
speaking  condition  as  soon  as  possible.  I  would 
see  you  for  a  moment,  but  time  is  valuable.  I  go 
immediately  to  the  city,  and  shall  not  return  until 
to-morrow  noon  at  earliest.  In  an  emergency, 
which  is  hardly  probable,  consult  with  Detective 
Sharpe." 

Miss  Churchill  signed  and  sealed  the  letter. 

"  Is  it  possible  to  send  this  note  to  Dr.  Dubois  at 
Woodbine  Villa  right  away  ?     It  is  important  !  " 

"  I  will  attend  to  it.  My  office-boy  will  take  it 
immediately  to  its  destination." 

With    her    usual    forethought.    Miss   Churchill 


206  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

waited  until  she  saw  the  messenger  depart  on  his 
mission,  and  then,  with  a  light  heart,  boarded  the 
train  at  the  little  station,  and  was  whirled  toward 
the  great  city. 


M 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

LIGHT    AND    DARKNESS. 

ISS  CHURCHILL'S  letter  increased,  instead 
of  diminishing,  the  doctor's  perplexity  ;  its 
reference  to  Detective  Sharpe  was  a  worry  and  a 
puzzle  at  the  same  time;  for  in  obedience  to  orders 
he  had  called  at  Lesbia  Villa  and  had  been  told 
that  the  detective  had  also  gone  to  the  city  for  fresh 
evidence. 

"  And  she  is  said  to  be  an  acute  reasoner  and 
crime-detecter  !"  exclaimed  the  doctor,  gazing  con- 
temptuously at  the  letter.  "  She  goes  away  believ- 
ing every  thing  is  right,  while  to  me,  every  thing  is 
in  confusion.  And  /,  /  am  to  do  nothing  !  She 
scorns  tny  assistance.  So  be  it  !  But  I  will  not 
hold  myself  responsible  for  the  results.  When  she 
fails,  in  her  foolish  impetuosity,  she  will  remember 
me  and  science  !  " 

In  the  invalid's  room  a  curious  scene  was  being 
acted. 

Miss  Percy  had  approached  the  bed  to  discover 
that  Miss  Gower  was  awake  and  tranquil.  She 
greeted  her  maid  with  a  smile. 

"  You  feel  better  ?  " 

"  Better  and  stronger,  but  very  much  perplexed. 


2o8  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

Was  it  the  old  horror,  or  have  I  been  dream- 
ing ? " 

"  Wait  until  you  are  stronger." 

"  Help  me  to  think,  my  dear,  as  you  have  helped 
me  to  live." 

It  would  have  surprised  the  wise  doctor  had  he 
witnessed  the  scene  from  some  secret  retreat.  If 
there  were  any  humiliation,  it  was  on  the  side  of  the 
mistress;  she  clasped  the  maid's  hand,  glanced  up  to 
her  face  with  an  affection  and  admiration  that  were 
unaccountable,  considering  the  difference  in  her 
social  position.  Stranger  still,  there  was  an  air  of 
quiet  protection  in  Miss  Percy's  affectionate  man- 
ner, such  as  a  mother  would  have  displayed  in 
humoring  a  wayward  child.  Remorse  would  not 
have  explained  the  puzzle,  even  when  backed  by 
scientific  syllogism. 

"  I  should  have  died  without  your  tenderness, 
my  dear,  and  it  is  so  strange  !  I  can  look  into  your 
face  without  any  shame." 

"  Your  inferiors  can  do  it  also  !  "  said  Miss  Percy, 
with  a  little  grimace. 

"  Do  they  know  ?  "  asked  the  invalid,  with  a  flush 
on  her  pale  face. 

"  They  know  nothing  ;  they  are  too  clever  for 
that  !  They  do  every  thing  according  to  quadratic 
equations  and  evolution,  and  they  are  as  wise  as 
they  deserve  to  be  !  But  you  must  not  speak  any 
more  now  ;  in  a  little  while  you  will  know  every 
thing.  Yet  if  you  mist  have  a  punishment,  I  will 
inform  you  that  Captain  Travers  is  as  dangerously 


LIGHT  AND  DARKNESS.  209 

,  in  love  as  ever  !  As  to  the  rest,  the  clouds  have  all 
vanished,  and  I  think  we  shall  see  the  sun  at  last. 
You  shall  have  a  glimpse  of  it  now." 

Miss  Percy  drew  back  the  curtains,  and  the  mild, 
golden,  autumn  sunlight  flooded  the  room.  Miss 
Percy,  standing  near  the  window,  was  surrounded 
by  it  as  by  an  extravagant  glory. 

"The  wise  men  intend  to  question  you  to-day," 
she  said,  again  approaching  the  bed,  "  and  you  will 
need  all  your  strength  to  resist  weariness.  You 
must  speak  of  the  old  life  for  your  own  vindication, 
and  then  you  can  forget  it  forever  !  " 

"  You  are  in  no  danger,  my  dear  ?  " 

"  Only  such  as  it  amuses  me  to  face.  When  it 
suits  me,  I  shall  get  out  of  it.  It  is  curious  how 
foolish  wise  people  are  !  "  she  concluded,  reflect- 
ively. 

"  If  I  do  not  speak  it,  dear,  I  am  none  the  less 
grateful." 

"  I  only  want  your  unspoken  gratitude.  Words 
are  very  wicked  things.  If  I  were  only  rich  enough, 
I  would  found  a  kingdom  of  dumb  people,  and  it 
should  be  all  men  !  Sleep  now,  that  I  may  prepare 
you  when  you  wake  for  the  grand  reception  of 
philosophers  !  " 

"  I  prefer  to  hear  your  voice." 

"  Fortunately,  you  will  not  hear  Miss  Churchill's 
just  at  present,  and  that  is  a  consolation.  I  wish  I 
had  been  all  they  thought  me  for  her  sake  !  As  to 
my  voice,  I  am  dumb  until  you  again  wake 
up  !  " 


2IO  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"  Remember  while  waiting,  dear,  that  I  have 
entered  a  new  life,"  said  the  invalid,  sadly. 

"  Marriage  !  "  thought  Miss  Percy.  "  If  she  has 
done  any  thing  wrong,  she  will  be  more  than 
punished.  If  I  were  a  cruel  law-maker,  instead  of 
punishing  a  woman  with  imprisonment,  I  would 
give  her  a  husband  !  " 

She  quietly  busied  herself  about  the  room  until 
her  mistress  had  fallen  asleep. 

Glancing  down  at  the  unconscious  figure,  she 
continued  her  criticisms. 

"  For  her  sake  I  think  it  would  have  been  better 
the  other  way.  And  she  is  the  only  one  who  has 
been  disinterestedly  kind  to  me  ;  the  only  one  who 
would  feel  real  regret  if  disaster  overwhelmed  me. 
How  I  can  escape  it  I  can't  see  just  now.  But  it 
must  be  done  !  " 

She  sighed  drearily. 

"  Fortunately,  life  isn't  so  very  attractive  ;  I  have 
seen  enough  of  it.  If  a  fairy  would  grant  me  one 
favor  now,  I  should  ask  for  forgetfulness  !  " 

She  retiredto  her  room  and  burned  all  her  papers, 
as  if  she  were  presiding  at  her  own  funeral  ;  then 
sat  near  the  window,  and  fell  into  a  deep  reverie. 

Later  in  the  afternoon  she  again  entered  her 
mistress's  room,  brought  her  food,  and  prepared 
her  to  receive  company. 

"  When  the  doctor  comes,  make  him  your  con- 
fidant, and  let  him  tell  it  to  the  others  if  he  pleases. 
But  say  nothing  of  me,  or  of  any  thing  but  your 
wretched  experiences  in  that  wretched  house.     It 


LIGH  T  AND  DARKNESS.  2 1 1 

is  necessary  to  tell  that,  and  that  only.  But  flatter 
the  hero's  vanity  by  allowing  him  to  believe  that  he 
is  drawing  you  out.  Men  require  to  be  treated  in 
that  way.  Appeal  to  their  vanity,  and  they  will 
bray  in  any  key  you  select  !  You  will  understand 
my  reason  later." 

"  I  require  nothing  but  your  advice.  You  are 
strong  ;  I  am  weak.     But  you  will  desert  me  ?  " 

"  I  would  not  miss  the  doctor's  science-primer 
deductions  for  all  the  world.  I  deserve  that  luxury, 
at  least  !  " 

And  yet  she  welcomed  him  in  a  manner  that  was 
almost  affectionate,  and  flushed  when  his  eagle  eyes 
were  cast  in  her  direction. 

"  I  am  rejoiced  to  see  that  you  are  better.  Miss 
Gower,"  he  said,  seating  himself  near  the  bed. 

"  I  am  better,  sir,  thanks  to  your  skill.  I  feel  so 
strong  that  I  think  I  could  leave  my  bed." 

"  We  will  try  that  expedient  to-morrow.  In  the 
meantime  allow  me  to  say  a  few  words.  There  is 
a  subject  which  it  is  necessary  to  discuss.  That  is, 
certain  information  which  you  could  give  would 
throw  light  on  a  matter  that  now  perplexes  us.  I 
believe  I  have  your  confidence?" 

"  And  my  gratitude,  doctor." 

"  Very  good  !  Now  I  should  like  to  test  this 
confidence,  for  your  own  welfare.  What  you  tell 
me  in  your  impulsive  womanly  way,  I  could  arrange 
with  the  cold  precision  of  science,  and  deliver  it  in 
a  manner  that  would  be  least  jarring  on  your  feel- 
ings.    But  at  the  start,  let  me  assure   you  there   is 


212  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

nothing  to  fear.  Your  enemy  is  out  of  the  way 
of  doing  any  further  harm.     He  is  dead  !  " 

Miss  Gower  sighed  heavily,  but  from  the  expres- 
sion   of   her  face   the  news   was   not  displeasing. 

"  When  you  are  stronger  you  shall  hear  all  the 
details  ;  at  present,  you  must  suppress  your  curios- 
ity, and  be  content  to  answer  me  blindly." 

"  Question  me,  then  !  " 

"You  were  an  adopted  child.  How  were  you 
treated  in  your  new  home  ?  " 

"  By  my  adopted  father  and  mother  with  unfail- 
ing love  and  tenderness.  In  all  the  long  years  I 
lived  with  them  they  acted  toward  me  as  the  angels 
they  W'cre  !  " 

"  And  their  son  ?  " 

"  Their  son  was  a  fiend  !  "  said  Miss  Gower, 
flashing  into  anger  at  the  remembrance.  *'  The 
devil  must  have  stolen  the  real  child,  and  placed 
a  fiend  in  its  cradle  !  He  was  a  hypocrite  as  a  child  ; 
pinching  me,  tearing  out  my  hair,  and  plunging 
pins  into  me  in  the  nursery,  and  showing  the  most 
sanctimonious  face  out  of  it  !  He  was  assisted  in  all 
his  fiendishness,  and  taught  new  fiendishness,  by  a 
servant  friend  of  his,  one  Max  Newton  !  " 

'*  I  already  have  my  eyes  on  that  gentleman  ! " 
said  the  doctor,  severely. 

"  My  childish  life  was  one  long  torture,  and  had 
it  not  been  for  my  love  for  my  adopted  parents,  I 
would  have  broken  away  from  it  !  But  even  as  a 
child  I  saw  that  their  lives  were  centered  in  their 
son  ;  he  was  their  idol,  and  remained  so,  I  hope,  to 


LIGHT  A ND  DARKNESS.  2 1 3 

the  end.  At  least,  if  they  ever  had  a  glimpse  of  the 
truth  it  was  not  from  me  ;  for  as  a  child  I  vowed 
that  they  should  never  suffer  a  pang  on  my  account, 
and  what  I  vowed  as  a  child  I  kept  as  a  woman. 
My  lips  were  closed  until  they  rested  quietly  in 
their  graves." 

"  And  as  man  and  woman  ?" 

"  His  vices  increased  with  age.  I  had  been  adopted 
with  the  intention  of  ultimately  becoming  his  wife  ; 
but  when  we  were  old  enough  to  speak  on  such 
subjects,  he  amused  himself  by  insulting  an  innocent 
shrinking  girl  with  the  announcement  that  he  never 
intended  to  marry,  which  was  an  old-fashioned 
invention  of  stupidity  ;  but  had  made  up  his  mind 
to  lead  a  life  of  liberty.  He  repeated  this  again 
and  again  ;  forcing  me  to  listen  to  his  plans  for 
the  future.  He  endeavored  to  make  me  read  vile 
books,  which  his  friend  Max  Newton  supplied  him 
with.  In  fact,  his  one  unfailing  delight  was  to  bring 
the  blush  of  shame  to  my  cheeks,  and  the  tears 
of  humiliation  to  my  eyes.  I  think  that  even  his 
blindly  loving  parents  suspected  him  at  last  ;  for 
they  changed  my  room  to  one  near  their  own,  and 
my  kind  adopted  mother  kept  me  near  her  protect- 
ing presence.  But  at  every  opportunity  the  wretch 
persecuted  me,  vowing,  at  the  same  time,  if  I  revealed 
one  word  of  what  he  said,  that  he  would  rob  me  of 
the  love  that  sheltered  me.  I  feared  him,  for  his 
energy  in  carrying  out  a  wicked  plot  was  only 
equal  to  his  cunning  in  inventing  it.  Even  as  a 
boy,  in  some  fancied   spite  against    him,   he  would 


214  ^HO  IS  GUILTY? 

deliberately  bruise  himself  with  a  hammer  or  other 
weapon,  and  then  complain  to  his  parents  that  I 
had  done  it  !  That  he  did  not  cut  and  mutilate  him- 
self was  only  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  an  insane 
horror  of  blood.  Conceive  many  years  passed  in 
these  tortures,  and  you  may  guess  at  my  life  ;  but 
not  at  my  sufferings  !  " 

"  He  was  undoubtedly  insane,"  said  the  doctor, 
"  and  had  he  not  died,  would  have  ended  his  days 
in  an  asylum." 

"  I  was  comparatively  safe  until  his  parents 
died,  but  on  the  very  day  they  were  buried  he  cast 
aside  the  last  remnant  of  manhood,  and  suggested 
to  me  a  mode  of  life  which  to  think  of  even  now 
fills  me  with  horror  and  shame.  On  that  very  day 
I  left  his  house,  never  to  enter  it  again.  Before 
their  death,  his  parents  had  personally  delivered  to 
me  a  little  sum  of  money,  ample  for  all  my  wants. 
I  hired  a  cottage,  placed  it  in  charge  of  a  kind 
old  lady,  and  lived  in  it.  But  he  persecuted 
me  even  here.  When  I  ordered  him  away,  he 
swore  he  would  be  revenged,  and  rushed  off  only 
to  return  again.  As  he  lost  hope,  he  gained  in 
fiendishness,  and  the  last  time  I  saw  him  he  vowed 
that  he  would  not  die,  till  he  had  degraded  me  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world,  even  if  he  devoted  his  entire 
fortune  to  it.  I  would  say  that  his  servant  Max 
Newton  was  equally  vindictive.  This  man  was  paid 
for  humoring  his  master's  vices,  and  he  had  been 
promised  a  large  sum  if  he  could  persuade  me  to 
accept   his  master's  proposals.     Failing  in  this,  he 


UGH  T  A  ND  DARKNESS.  2 1 5 

also  swore  to  degrade  me  ;  and  I  feared  the  evil 
servant  more  than  I  feared  the  evil  master  !  That 
I  am  strong,  doctor,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  I 
can  tell  you  these  things  without  shrieks  or  tears  ! 
The  horror  has  weighed  on  me  like  a  nightmare  ; 
for  a  long  year  the  fear  of  this  revenge  has  robbed 
me  of  sleep,  of  happiness,  of  hope  !  What  I  suffered 
in  the  house  with  him,  is  nothing  compared  with 
the  agonies  I  have  suffered  since  I  left  it.  With  hor- 
rors accumulating  around  me,  innocent  as  I  was, 
with  no  hopes  of  escaping  from  them,  I  should  per- 
haps have  become  as  reckless  and  as  degraded  as  he 
wished  me — " 

"  Had  it  not  been  that  you  were  too  sensible  to 
allow  an  idiot  to  rob  you  of  your  pride  and  common- 
sense,"  interrupted  Miss  Percy.  Then  turning  to 
the  doctor,  she  added  : 

"  He  was  a  bad  man,  doctor  !  " 

"  A  wretch  !  "  nodded  the  doctor,  with  an  expres- 
sion of  disgust  on  his  face. 

"  No  chivalry  there,  sir,  toward  a  weak,  helpless 
sex.  No  offers  of  protection  ;  no  high  ideas  of 
morality  ;  no  anxiety  as  to  the  present  condition 
of  the  church  !  Yes,  doctor,  _y^/^  have  the  right  to 
call  him  a  wretch  !  " 

The  doctor  was  a  novice  in  this  species  of  hero- 
worship  ;  and  he  eyed  Miss  Percy  with  marked  per- 
plexity. 

"  Men  are  sometimes  born  demons,"  he  said,  first 
coughing  to  clear  his  throat.  "  You  have  told  me. 
Miss  Gower,  all  that  I  have  a  right  to  know " 


2l6  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

"And  she  is  tired  out  by  the  labor,"  again  inter- 
rupted Miss  Percy,  with  strange  authoritativeness  in 
the  presence  of  her  mistress  and  her  hero.  "  Has 
she  not  said  enough  for  to-day  ?  To-morrow  she 
may  be  able  to  give  in  detail  the  facts,  which  you, 
in  the  cause  of  science,  are  so  anxious  to  hear. 
Better  still,  sir,  she  may  whisper  them  to  me,  and  / 
will  retail  them  to  you  in  the  library  to-night." 

The  doctor  did  not  admire  Miss  Percy  in  her  new 
mood.  She  was  already  presuming  on  the  protection 
that  she  had  not  yet  received.  It  is  certain  that  she 
was  lacking  in  delicac}'.  He  presented  a  frowning 
profile  to  her,  and  honored  Miss  Gower  with  his 
attentions. 

"  My  interest  in  this  matter,  Miss  Gower,  is  of  an 
impersonal  nature.  I  am  working  in  the  cause  of 
justice,  and  what  you  have  told  me  was  necessary 
to  a  clear  understanding  of  a  subject  in  which  I 
am  interested.  In  the  cause  of  friendship,  I  may 
have  something  else  to  ask  ;  but  in  the  absence  of 
my  colleague,  and  also  considering  your  weak  con- 
dition, I  will  defer  it,  with  other  matters,  until  to- 
morrow !  " 

Twilight  passes  rapidly  into  night  in  September, 
and  the  sunlight  had  long  since  faded  out  of  the 
room.  When  the  doctor  departed,  it  was  still  light 
enough  to  see  the  figure  on  the  bed.  In  the 
increasing  darkness,  the  figure  was  invisible,  and 
silent  in  sleep.  The  moonlight  was  visible  through 
the  openings  in  the  curtains,  but  here  there  were  no 


LIGHT  AND  DARKNESS.  2 1  7 

eyes  to  appreciate  its  mellow  softness.  Mr.  Morris 
and  doctor  Dubois  are  socially  chatting  over  a  glass 
of  wine  in  the  library.  Through  the  quiet  autumn 
evening  the  church  bell  is  pealing  the  hour  of  ten. 

Miss  Percy  in  traveling  attire,  and  small  valise 
in  hand,  pauses  in  the  open  air  to  count  the  strokes 
of  the  bell,  and  then  continues  on  her  journey. 
She  deserts  her  trunk  without  a  sigh,  but  before 
leaving  the  house  she  has  softly  kissed  her  sleeping 
mistress  on  the  forehead. 

It  is  a  beautiful  star-light  night,  without  a  breath 
of  wind  ;  the  crickets  are  still  recalling  summer  as 
they  chirrup  from  the  trees  and  bushes  ;  and  the 
dead  leaves  suggesting  winter  are  invisible,  but 
she  hears  them  crackle  under  her  feet. 

The  quietness  of  the  night  quiets  her  nervousness 
and  the  warmth  returns  to  her  cold  cheeks.  She 
is  unusually  interested  in  the  things  around  her  ;  a 
criminal  doomed  to  life-long  imprisonment  would 
have  felt  the  same  interest.  In  front  of  her,  in  the 
distance,  is  a  spread  of  waters  with  a  line  of  quiv- 
ering moonlight  moving  with  the  ripples.  Half  in 
idleness,  half  in  wonder,  she  walks  onward,  from 
right  to  left,  from  left  to  right,  changing  her  point 
of  view  ;  but  the  line  of  quivering  light  changes 
with  her.  The  doctor  would  have  solved  the  mys- 
tery for  her.  She  does  not  think  of  him  ;  but  of 
the  far-back  days  when  she  and  the  world  were 
younger,  and  the  moonlighted  waters  offered  the 
same  puzzle  to  her  childish  eyes.  It  was  only  a 
momentary  glimpse  of  a  long-dead    world  ;  but  it 


2 1 8  WHO  IS  G  UIL  T  Y? 

quickened  her  breath,  tingled  her  nerves,  and 
brought  the  moisture  to  her  eyes. 

A  quiet  night,  with  all  the  familiar  objects  bathed 
in  a  tender  .light,  assuming  their  most  attractive 
appearance,  as  if  anxious  to  appear  at  their  best  in 
bidding  a  companion  farewell.  She  had  nearly 
reached  her  journey's  end  ;  yet  she  hesitated  before 
completing  it,  turning  from  the  narrow,  black  tun- 
nel, to  enjoy  one  last  look  at  the  clear  blue  sky  and 
the  motionless  trees.  Her  face  was  thoughtful  and 
sad  ;  and  the  moonlight  repeated  its  old  mystery  in 
the  two  tears  that  welled  uj)  from  her  eyes  and 
rolled  down  her  cheeks.  When  she  turned  from 
the  light  above  to  the  darkness  beneath  her, 
her  face  changed,  and  what  was  yearning  tender- 
ness became  stern  resolution. 

Ifi  her  absence  the  stone  room  in  the  tower  had 
undergone  a  change.  A  rare  Persian  rug  partially 
covered  the  floor,  and  on  this  was  standing  a  rarer 
table,  that  had  formerly  ornamented  the  drawing- 
room.  Two  richly- covered  arm-chairs  stood  beside 
the  table,  and  seated  in  the  largest  was  Mr.  Max 
Newton,  with  a  grim  smile  of  satisfaction  on  his 
face. 

"  You  are  earlier  than  I  expected,  ma  belle  !  " 

"  I  was  fearful,  and  dreaded  some  trouble.  I 
could  not  wait  longer." 

"  You  are  welcome  ;  for  I  was  a  little  lonely  my- 
self.    I  prepared  this  room  for  your  reception." 

"  You  are  very  kind,  but  it  is  a  waste  of  time. 
If    you  had  only  provided  a  little  supper  and  a 


LIGHT  AND  DARKNESS.  2 1 9 

little  wine  to  make  the  time  pass  pleasantly,  I 
could  better  have  appreciated  your  thoughtful- 
ness." 

"  You  shall  have  all  the  wine  you  can  drink,  ma 
belle,  and  all  the  food  you  can  eat  !  We  will  drink 
to  the  health  of  the  old  house  before  we  send  it  to 
the  skies  !  The  clockwork  is  already  set,  and 
started  in  the  cavern,  and  after  we  have  left  the 
house  will  vanish  !  " 

"  That  is  very  comfortable  !  I  hope  you  have 
not  made  any  mistake  with  your  clockwork,  to 
treat  us  to  a  premature  explosion  !  " 

"  By  the  color  not  flying  from  your  cheeks,  I  see 
that  you  have  not  lost  confidence  in  me  !  Ah,  ma 
belle,  if  human  life  were  only  longer,  I  would 
conquer  the  world." 

"  Is  your  friend  still  saying  his  prayers,  uncle  ? 
I  don't  hear  him  move." 

"  Probably  he  is  absorbed  in  making  his  will  !  " 
answered  Mr.  Newton,  with  a  diabolical  grin. 
"  What  shall  we  drink  his  health  in  ?  Make  your 
choice,  for  I  am  sorry  to  say,  even  the  wine-cellar 
will  not  be  saved." 

"  I  leave  it  to  you,  uncle.  But  I  wish  you  could 
give  me  something  to  eat.  I  haven't  touched 
any  thing  since  morning,  and  1  am   chilled  too  !  " 

"  Place  these  dishes  and  glasses  on  the  table  and 
wait  for  me,"  said  the  old  man,  pointing  to  the 
corner  of  the  room,  and  then  disappearing  down 
the  staircase. 

Before  obeying,  Miss  Percy  took  a  small  bottle 


220  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

from  her  valise  and  placed  it  in  the  bosom  of  her 
dress. 

The  old  man  returned  with  a  salver,  on  which 
were  several  articles  of  food  and  three  black 
bottles. 

"  We  must  be  satisfied  with  cold  fare  to-night, 
ma  belle,  but  before  we  leave,  we  will  heat  some 
water  and  thaw  our  blood  with  brandy.  Drink, 
drink  even  to  intoxication,  if  you  like.  I  will  take 
care  of  you  for  the  amusement  it  will  cause  me. 
Serve  yourself  to  the  food,  and  if  you  are  in  the 
mood,  empty  the  bottle  of  madeira  !  " 

Mr.  Newton  carefully  wiped  his  plate  and  washed 
out  his  wine  glass,  and  then  drank  more  than  he 
ate. 

"  Is  every  thing  ready,  uncle  ?  " 

"  Everything,  my  lady  light-head  !  Satisfy  your 
senses  and  leave  thinking  to  me.  Amuse  me  with 
the  tattle  of  our  friends." 

"  I  am  to  be  arrested  to-morrow,  uncle,"  said 
Miss  Percy,  with  a  smile;  "  arrested  as  a  poisoner 
of  my  dear  mistress  ;  and,  when  he  is  caught, 
Geoffrey  Draper  is  to  be  tried  for  murder.  Isn't 
it  curious  that  they  never  once  suspected  you  ? " 

"  One  fool  did  begin  to  suspect  me,  and  for  that 
act  of  superhuman  wisdom  his  body  will  give 
^clat  to  the  explosion  in  our  honor.  But  what  of 
the  woman  ?  " 

"  She  is  regarded  as  a  partner,  in  more  senses 
than  one,  of  her  lover,  Mr.  Draper  !  " 

"  She  shall  live  after   this,  live    if    she  outlasts 


LIGHT  AND  DARKNESS.  22 1 

the  world  !  If  I  am  forgotten  elsewhere,  I  shall  sur- 
vive in  her  memory  !  And  that  is  a  species  of  fame 
I  hunger  for.  Her  virtue  !  If  she  had  been  less 
of  a  fool,  he  would  have  grown  tired  of  her  in  a 
week,  and  she  might  have  gone  her  way  and 
married  whom  she  pleased,  and  no  one  cared  about 
it  or  her  !  Fool !  she  deserves  to  suffer.  Drink, 
ma  belle,  drink  yourself  into  liveliness  !  Take  the 
check  off  your  tongue,  and  speak  to  me  as  if  I 
were  a  young  man  !  " 

"It  is  difificult,  uncle,  with  chattering  teeth. 
Warm  my  blood,  and  I  promise  to  be  amusing  !  " 

"  You  have  the  family  failing,  and  prefer  some- 
thing stronger  than  wine.  I  am  prepared  even  for 
this  emergency  !  " 

He  lighted  a  small  oil-stove,  over  which  he 
placed  a  pan  of  water. 

"  When  he  was  away,  I  lived  in  this  little  room  for 
weeks  together,  and  yonder  little  stove  supplied  all 
my  wants.  Light  the  other  candles,  ma  belle,  we 
will  have  a  feast  !  " 

He  half  filled  two  goblets  with  the  hot  water, 
and  placed  one  of  them  on  the  table  in  front  of  Miss 
Percy.  While  he  was  busied  with  the  stove,  she 
drew  the  bottle  from  the  bosom  of  her  dress 
and  poured  a  portion  of  its  clear  contents  into  her 
oii'ii  glass,  and  then  hastily  secreted  the  bottle. 
She  then  stretched  her  arm  across  the  table  ;  but 
hastily  withdrew  it  as  the  old  man  turned  round. 
A  wicked  smile  came  to  his  lips. 

"  Squeeze  a  little  lemon  in  your  glass,  ma  belle, 


222  WHO  IS  GUILTY ? 

and  I  will  squeeze  a  little  lemon  into  mine.  Now 
pour  this  dose  of  brandy  into  your  glass  and  I 
will  pour  this  whisky  into  mine.  Are  you  ready, 
ma  belle  ?  "  he  asked  with  fierce  joviality. 

"  I  am  ready,  uncle,  even  to  the  sugar." 

"  Then,  ma  belle,  we  will  change  glasses  in  loving 
confidence  !  Hand  me  your  goblet,  sweetheart." 
He  laughed  harshly  as  the  exchange  was  made  ; 
duped  by  his  own  suspicions,  as  the  wise  Miss  Percy 
had  foreseen  and  prepared  for  !  She  submitted  to 
the  change  of  glasses  with  so  much  innocent  direct- 
ness, that  he  felt  ashamed  of  his  doubts. 

"  Your  health,  ma  belle,"  he  said  gayly,  drinking 
from  the  prepared  glass.  "  I  hope  this  will  melt 
your  icy  blood  and  free  your  tongue.  Drink  !  drink  ! 
And  talk  to  me  as  if  I  were  a  woman  and  your  friend. 
Tell  me  about  the  doctor,  and  how  much  money 
you  squeezed  out  of  him." 

"I  owe  him  nothing,  uncle,"  she  answered 
dryly. 

"  Then  tell  me  how  much  he  owes  you  !  "  con- 
tinued Mr.  Newton  with  a  short  laugh. 

"  He  owes  me  nothing,  uncle  !  " 

"  It  was,  then,  love  after  all  ? " 

"  You  are  making  the  mistake  you  made  once 
before.  You  are  blind  on  the  side  of  decency, 
uncle." 

"  Be  careful,  ma  belle,  be  careful.  I  am  a  free 
man  again.  I  have  plenty  of  time  at  my  disposal 
now,  and  if  it  becomes  my  humor  to  again  hammer 
down  your  will  and   obstinacy,    I    won't  fail   this 


LIGH  T  A  ND  DA  RKNESS.  223 

time.  Drink,  you  little  devil,"  he  continued,  empty- 
ing his  own  glass  and  refilling  it.  "  Loose  your 
wits  ;  I  will  keep  mine  !  I  could  empty  a  wine- 
cellar  without  losing  my  senses  !  " 

In  truth,  alcohol,  instead  of  rendering  Mr.  New- 
ton helpless,  only  intensified  his  eccentricities.  His 
brain  remained  clear  ;  but  the  muddy  pool  of  his 
emotional  nature  was  stirred,  and  its  sediment 
universally  diffused.  Miss  Percy's  opinion  of  her 
venerable  relative  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  she  kept  her  hand  in  the  pocket  of  her  dress  ; 
the  slender  fingers  clutching  the  handle  of  a 
pistol. 

"  How  are  we  to  know  when  the  yacht  arrives, 
uncle  ?  " 

"  We  leave  this  place  at  twelve,  and  wait  for  it 
hidden  near  the  shore — I  have  a  prettier  niece 
than  I  imagined  !  Your  health,  ma  belle."  The 
hand  holding  out  the  glass  had  lost  its  steadiness, 
and  the  liquid  in  the  glass  spattered  the  table. 
"  Come — come — come  and  kiss  me  !  "  He  stam- 
mered in  his  speech  ;  paused,  and  over  his  face 
there  passed  a  wave  of  malignant  hatred. 

"  You "  he  hissed  fiercely,  yet  feebly. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  interview  Miss  Percy 
felt  at  ease  ;  she  withdrew  her  hand  from  her  pocket 
and  calmly  consulted  her  watch.  "  It  was  time  !  " 
she  murmured,  glancing  at  the  old  man  who  was 
sinking  into  passiveness  in  his  chair,  yet  even  in 
his  impotency  grinding  his  teeth  and  feebly  clench- 
ing his  hand. 


2  24  WHO  IS  G  UIL  T  V  ? 

"  If  I  had  time  I  would  box  his  ears  for  his  insults; 
but  wanting  time  I  shall  surrender  him  to  a  friend 
who  will  be  only  too  anxious  to  pay  him  his 
respects ! " 

She  opened  his  coat  and  extracted  from  its  inner 
pocket  a  sealed  envelope  ;  and  with  a  contempt- 
uous shrug  of  the  shoulders  left  the  room. 

'^  Another  victim  of  too  much  cleverness,"  she 
muttered.  "  And  still  another  is  waiting  my  fool- 
ishness for  assistance." 

She  pushed  open  the  heavy  door  and  entered  the 
large  vaulted  chamber.  Securely  tied,  hands  and 
feet,  and  with  a  gag  in  his  mouth,  lay  the  redoubt- 
able Detective  Sharpe. 

Miss  Percy  was  too  much  disturbed  by  her  own 
thoughts  to  enjoy  the  humorous  spectacle.  She 
removed  the  gag  ;  loosened  the  bonds,  and  the 
disconsolate  and  numbed  detective  rose  slowly  and 
painfully  to  his  feet. 

"  I'm  much  obliged  to  you.  Miss  Percy,"  he  said, 
humbly.     "  But  if  I  once  get  hold " 

"  Excuse  me,  Mr.  Sharpe,  but  neither  of  us  has 
time  to  pay  or  to  receive  compliments.  The  man 
you  seek  is  in  the  room  below  this  ;  but  the  tower 
is  undermined  and  will  be  blown  in  the  air  after 
midnight.  There  is  no  time  to  explain.  Listen, 
and  obey.  There  are  still  fifteen  minutes  of 
safety  !     Have  you  any  men  around  ? " 

"  There  is,  or  was,  one  in  the  veranda." 

"  Well  summon  him,  return  here  with  him,  and 
then  remove  the  senseless   man.     Get   him   out  of 


LIGHT  A. YD  DARKNESS.  225 

the  house,  and  yourself  out  of  the  house,  all  within 
fifteen  minutes  !     Do  you  hear  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  I  don't  understand." 

"  If  you  understood  you  would  again  make  a  fool 
of  yourself,"  she  said,  dryly.  '*  Listen  and  obey. 
The  man  is  in  the  room  below,  and  you  have  less 
than  fifteen  minutes  to  act.  Go  !  This  way  ;  and 
return  this  way  !  " 

She  pulled  back  the  door  opening  on  the  hall, 
and  secured  it  from  springing  forward. 

"  Go,  now,  for  help,  and  receive  the  merited 
honor  of  capturing  the  murderer  !  Remember  that 
every  moment  is  precious." 

"  I  understand,"  said  the  detective,  rushing  into 
the  hall,  "  and  if  I'm  caught  this  time,  I  deserve  to 
be  blown  up  !  " 

She  listened  for  a  moment  to  his  retreating  foot- 
steps, and  then  returned  to  the  room  below,  but  not 
to  wait.  After  casting  one  contemptuous  glance  at 
the  sleeping  man,  she  pushed  against  a  projection 
in  the  wall.  One  of  the  stones  slipped  aside, 
thereby  revealing  a  high  but  narrow  opening. 

"  If  I  only  knew  where  the  explosive  is  I  would 
remove  it.  My  mistake  ;  but  it  can  not  be  reme- 
died now,  and  there  is  time  even  for  a  fool  to  act  !" 

She  entered  the  narrow  passage-way,  and  the 
stone  closed  behind  her.  A  narrow  passage-way, 
darker  than  the  night  outside  it,  with  a  flight  of 
steps  and  a  perceptible  slope,  with  mysterious 
puffs  of  air  blowing  into  it  from  secret  openings.  A 
long,   carefully-constructed    passage-way,     costing 


226  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

years  to  build  and  the  work  of  a  madman ! 
Miss  Percy  sped  through  the  darkness  as  if 
she  were  well  acquainted  with  the  ground. 
Having  passed  straight  forward  for  a  certain 
distance,  with  her  hand  touching  the  walls,  she 
turned  to  the  right,  and,  in  a  moment,  entered 
the  aneurism  of  a  cave  into  which  the  artery 
dilated.  Touching  a  spring,  she  entered  a 
broader  cave,  and  the  sea,  glittering  in  the  moon- 
light, was  before  her. 

She  glanced  anxiously  about  ;  but  no  yacht 
was  in  sight.  Ships  were  at  rest  on  the  water  with 
furled  sails  ;  but  not  the  yacht  she  sought.  She 
glanced  at  her  watch  in  the  moonlight.  Two  min- 
utes to  twelve  ! 

Suppose  she  had  been  suspected  !  Suppose  she 
should  reach  the  yacht  too  late  !  Suppose  a  thou- 
sand possibilities  !  a  thousand  impossibilities !  a 
thousand  horrors  !  every  thing  !  any  thing  !  The 
passiveness  frenzied  her.  She  could  have  con- 
trolled her  feelings  to  the  end  if  she  had  plunged 
from  activity  into  activity.  But  to  stand  idle  with 
the  goal  in  view,  to 

There  was  a  strange  tremor  of  the  earth  !  She  felt 
before  she  heard.  She  covered  her  ears  with  her 
hands  and  shrieked.  It  was  coming  !  Yes,  with  the 
faint  sound  of  the  midnight  bell,  it  came  !  A  flash 
of  fire,  and  a  loud  explosion,  causing  the  very  rocks 
to  shiver ! 

That  was  over  !  She  panted  with  terror,  yet 
smiled  in  her  relief.     Again  she  glanced  over  the 


LIGH  T  A  ND  DA  RKNESS.  227 

water  and  saw  her  yacht,  as  if  it  had  dropped  from 
the  clouds. 

A  small  boat  had  emerged  from  its  shadow,  and 
was  speeding  in  her  direction.  It  touched  the  sand 
and  she  leaped  into  it. 

"  Take  me  first  to  the  yacht,  and  then  return  with 
all  your  men  !  "  she  said  to  the  man  in  the  stern. 
^^ He  is  in  the  cave,  and  he  needs-  you  all. 
Quick  !  " 

She  spoke  commandingly,  and  they  obeyed  with 
energy. 

"  What  was  the  explosion,  Miss  Percy  ?  " 

"  The  house  has  vanished.  It  blew  up  before 
he  expected  ;  and  he  fears  the  report  will  bring 
the  enemies  on  him  !  You  must  be  quick,  and  take 
your  guns  with  you.  There  is  a  world  of  riches  to 
share  among  you  !  " 

Pulled  by  the  sturdy  arms,  the  boat  flew  through 
the  water.  It  reached  the  yacht,  and  Miss  Percy 
was  the  first  to  climb  to  its  deck. 

A  whispered  conversation,  a  slight  pause,  and 
then  two  boats  emerged  from  the  shadow  of  the 
yacht,  and  hastened  toward  the  shore. 

Miss  Percy  was  in  action  again  ;  it  was  the  one 
stimulation  she  needed  !  She  passed  through  the 
cabin  of  the  yacht,  unfastened  a  door  at  the 
other  end,  and  entered  a  small,  dark  room  ;  too 
dark  for  its  interior  to  be  seen.  Not  a  sound  was  to 
be  heard. 

"  Geoffrey  !  "  she  called,  with  a  nervous  tremor 
in  her  voice.     '*  Geoffrey  !  " 


228  WHO  IS  G UIL  TV? 

All  was  silent.  More  activity,  or  she  would  fall 
into  unconsciousness  ! 

''  Geoffrey  !  Geoffrey  !  " 

"  Eh  ?  what  ?  "  asked  a  voice  from  the  darkness. 

"  Thank  God  !  "  she  murmured,  with  her  hand 
clasped  to  her  heart.  "  Geoffrey,  where  are  you  ? 
I  dare  not  light  a  lamp,  or  they  will  see  it  from  the 
outside.  '  Where  are  you  ?  " 

"  Tied,  neck  and  heels,  on  the  bed,  ready  for  the 
fishes  !  "  answered  a  cheery  voice.  "  But  not  a  bit 
afraid,  having  faith  in  a  good  angel." 
#-  She  entered  the  darkness,  and  with  extended 
hands,  groped  her  way.  It  was  a  small  room,  and 
she  easily  reached  the  bed. 

"  If  I  hurt,  tell  me.  I  must  sever  your  bonds  in 
the  dark." 

*'  Cut  away,  angel ;  I  will  stand  it !  " 

With  intelligence  at  the  ends  of  her  fingers,  she 
cautiously  severed  the  ropes  that  were  twisted 
around  a  human  form  ;  then  emerged  from  the 
darkness  into  the  light,  followed  by  a  handsome 
young  man,  who  had  evidently  endured  much  suf- 
fering. 

"  I  hoped  that  friends  would  have  met  us,  as  I 
warned  them.  But  they  are  all  idiots,  and  we 
must  depend  on  ourselves.  Are  you  strong  enough 
to  swim?  " 

"  Ready  to  risk  it,  or  any  thing,  to  smell  the  air 
of  freedom  again  !  " 

"  Well,  creep  through  the  window  and  swim  to  the 
shore.     It  is  not  far." 


LIGHT  AND  DARKNESS.  229 

"  And  you  ? " 

"  I  will  remain  ;  I  do  not  fear  !  " 

"  But  I  do  !  I  will  not  leave  you  at  this  moment, 
weak  as  I  am,  and  strong  as  you  are  !  They  will 
have  to  step  over  my  body  first  !  " 

"  Escape  !  They  are  already  returning,  frenzied 
by  my  falsehood.     Escape  !     It  is  a  fitting  end  !  " 

"  Too  romantic,  by  half.  Miss  Percy  !  I  am  not 
hero  enough  to  let  you  suffer." 

"  But  listen,  they  are  on  the  deck." 

"  Evidently  cracking  each  other's  skulls.  Miss 
Percy.     Do  you  hear  the  groans  and  curses  ?  " 

"  It  is  Captain  Travers,"  she  said,  joyfully. 
"  He  has  come  in  time  !  " 

The  tension  had  proved  too  great,  even  for  her, 
and  as  Captain  Travers  rushed  into  the  cabin  she 
uttered  a  sigh,  and  fell  unconscious  to  the  ground. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

DISCOVERED    AT    LAST   ! 

THE  principal  morning  paper  in  the  city  thus 
commented   on  the   events    of   the    evening 
before  in  Cypressville  : 

"  As  the  finger  of  time  pointed  to  midnight, 
Cypressville  was  treated  to  another  sensation  ;  an 
attempt  was  made  to  blow  up  Lesbia  Villa,  the 
scene  of  the  late  tragedy.  Fortunately,  it  was 
unsuccessful  ;  the  house  is  undamaged  save  for  a 
few  broken  windows  and  cracked  ceilings.  The 
reason  for  the  attempt  was  a  villain's  desire  to 
destroy  Mr.  Sharpe,  the  pride  of  our  detectives, 
who  escaped  from  a  vile  attempt  to  ruin  him,  that 
another  laurel  leaf  may  ornament  his  modest  brow  ! 
Just  before  the  explosion,  he  was  in  the  house 
maturing  his  plans  for  the  capture  of  the  criminal 
who  had  murdered  the  ill-fated  Mr.  Addison. 
From  the  very  start  his  subtile  brain,  which  far 
excels  in  cunning  those  of  the  fam.ed  detectives 
of  fiction,  had  pierced  through  the  maze  of  mystery, 
and  reached  its  nucleus  !  Like  a  sleuth-hound,  he 
steadily  pursued  the  trail,  and  had  finally  planted 
his  fangs  in  the  throat  of  the  quarry.  In  the  cause 
of  justice,  we  have   hitherto  refrained  from  com- 


DISCOVERED  A  T  LAST !  231 

menting  on  the  case  ;  but  the  reasons  for  silence 
are  removed,  and  we  can  now  freely  state,  that 
Max  Newton  is  the  man  who  has  stained  his  hands 
with  a  noble  master's  blood.  To  Detective  Sharpe, 
and  to  him  alone,  is  due  the  credit  of  this  discovery  ; 
and  that  the  prisoner  is  not  now  in  jail  is  owing 
to  the  fact  that  he  mysteriously  disappeared  at  the 
very  moment  the  detective  intended  to  arrest  him. 
Detective  Sharpe  escaped  by  a  miracle  ;  he  was 
grappling  with  the  frenzied  criminal  a  few  minutes 
before  the  explosion,  and  had  bound  him.  The 
wretch  refused  to  move  and  the  detective  rushed 
out  to  obtain  assistance.  At  that  moment  the 
explosion  occurred,  fortunately,  as  we  have  said, 
doing  little  harm.  The  detective,  followed  by  the 
devoted  Mr.  Tomlins,  rushed  back  into  the  build- 
ing ;  but  the  murderer  had  escaped.  He  had  cut 
his  bonds  and  by  means  of  a  secret  passage  reached 
the  sea-shore,  where,  doubtless,  a  boat  was  waiting 
for  him.  We  venture  this  statement  from  the  fact 
that  three  police  officers  were  picked  up  out  of  the 
water.  They  had  been  placed  over-night,  by  Cap- 
tain Travers,  in  charge  of  the  yacht  Oriatia,  which 
they  had  bravely  captured  and  rescued  a  prisoner 
from  it.  Trusting  in  the  majesty  of  their  shields 
and  batons,  they  were  quietly  walking  on  deck  when 
they  were  seized  by  the  crew  whom  they  were 
guarding,  and  were  unceremoniously  pitched  over- 
board. The  yacht  has  disappeared  with  the 
murderer,  but  Sharpe  is  on  the  trail  ! 

"  The  details  of  Sharpe's  heroic  act,  and  of  the 


232  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

secret  passages  in  the  house,  will  be  found  in  another 
column.  We  erect  public  monuments  to  our  war- 
riors, poets  and  statesmen  ;  we  patronize  our  liter- 
ary men  and  our  artists  ;  can  nothing  be  done  for 
our  brave  detectives  ?  We  have  opened  a  subscrip- 
tion bureau  that  Detective  Sharpe  may  receive  the 
public  approbation  that  he  merits.  Every  thing 
will  be  received,  from  the  artisans'  penny  to  the 
millionaire's  check  for  thousands.  We  head  the 
list  with  our  own  mite.     Let  the  ball  roll !  " 

Miss  Percy  read  this  enthusiastic  narrative  in 
her  own  room  ;  read  it  and  read  it  again,  and 
nearly  laughed  herself  into  convulsions. 

"  It  isn't  every  tragedy  that  ends  as  a  farce," 
was  her  amusing  comment.  "  Detective  Sharpe 
ran  away  to  escape  our  laughter,  and  not  on  account 
of  the  criminals.  As  for  my  good  relative,  the 
devil  has  agam  helped  him — the  devil  and  Mr. 
Sharpe  !  He  is  too  cunning  to  be  caught  now,  and 
I  was  a  fool  to  tru.st  any  body  but  myself.  They 
all  went  wrong  but  me,  wise  as  they  are  !  But  I'm 
abnormal,  as  the  doctor  would  say.  The  beast 
doctor  !  We  are  still  to  hear  his  wise  comments." 

Miss  Percy  descended  to  the  drawing-room, 
where  were  her  mistress,  looking  very  pale  but  not 
unhappy  ;  Doctor  Dubois,  Mr.  Morris,  Geoffrey 
Draper,  and  the  good-natured,  smiling  Captain 
Travers.  At  the  moment  the  maid  entered  the 
room,  the  doctor  had  finished  reading  aloud  the 
newspaper  item  that  had  so  amused  her. 

*'  This  is  the  value    of  fame  !  "    he  exclaimed, 


DISCO  VERED  AT  LAST!  233 

throwing  the  newspaper  aside.  "  I  am  not  vain, 
and  the  thing  is  a  trifle  in  itself  ;  but  if  truth  must 
be  told,  what  success  Sharpe  met  with  is  due  to 
me.  He  was  on  the  wrong  track,  until  science 
demonstrated  to  him  that  Max  Newton  was  the 
guilty  man  !  " 

The  doctor  paused  to  turn  toward  Geoffrey 
Draper,  who  was  in  danger  of  suffocation  in  his 
attempt  to  suppress  his  laughter. 

"  Excuse  me,  doctor,"  he  said,  unable  longer  to 
restrain  himself,  and  laughing  until  he  was  purple  in 
the  face.  "  The  whole  business  is  sad  ;  but  hang 
me  it  is  so  funny  !  " 

Again  he  gave  way  to  his  mirth,  and  the  sympa- 
thetic Miss  Percy  kept  him  company,  to  the  indig- 
nation of  the  grave  doctor. 

Mr.  Draper  again  apologized,  and  when  he  had 
conquered  his  sense  of  the  humorous,  he  said  : 

"  May  I  ask,  doctor,  if  you  were  convinced  that 
Max  Newton  was  the  murderer  from  the  very 
start  ? " 

"  I  was,  sir,  and  I  am  ;  and  I  stake  my  reputation 
on  the  truth  of  this  conclusion  !  " 

"  I  am  glad  we  have  got  a  definite  statement  at 
last  !  "  he  said,  glancing  demurely  toward  the 
now  demure  Miss  Percy.  The  doctor  retorted  with 
fine  sarcasm  : 

"  I  hope,  sir,  3'ou  will  be  able  to  demonstrate  your 
case  as  clearly  as  I  could  demonstrate  mine !  But 
we  are  waiting  !  " 

"  I  will   start  the  ball,"  said  Miss  Percy,  taking 


234  tV^O  IS  GUILTY? 

her  mistress's  hand  in  her  own.  "  I  suppose  even 
the  stupidest  among  you  is  beginning  to  see  that 
Miss  Gower  was  the  victim  of  a  diabohcal  plot. 
Two  wicked  men  pursued  her,  tortured  her  until  I 
wonder  she  did  not  kill  herself,  /would.  To  gain 
forgetfulness — " 

"  I,  Oriana  Gower,  indulged  in  the  vile  habit  of 
taking  opium,  and  the  habit  grew  on  me  till  I  was 
a  slave  !  " 

"  She  took  opium,"  said  Miss  Percy,  quietly,  "  to 
escape  from  her  agonies.  Once,  doctor,  she  waked 
up  in  the  greatest  pain,  and  at  her  request  I  gave 
her  a  hypodermic  injection  of  morphine.  You  saw 
the  mark  on  her  arm  and,  no  doubt,  drew  some 
rigid  scientific  deduction   from  it !  " 

The  doctor  blushed,  but  made  no  reply. 

"  Now,  in  all  that  follows,  you  will  always  remem- 
ber that  my  object  was  to  deceive  Max  Newton 
and  serve  Miss  Gower  at  the  same  time.  If  this 
man  once  suspected  me,  disaster  would  have  fallen 
on  myself  and  on  others." 

"  Poor  little  thing  !  "  murmured  Mr.  Draper. 

"  Before  I  was  a  lady's  maid,  I  was  enjoying  the 
luxury  of  starvation.  I  was  desperate,  and  Mr. 
Newton  took  me  in  hand.  He  promised  me  a 
fabulous  sum  if  I  got  engaged  in  Miss  Gower's 
service,  and  prevented  her  from  speaking  until  a 
certain  plot  was  matured.  To  help  myself,  and  an 
innocent  woman  at  the  same  time,  I  consented  to 
Mr.  Newton's  proposal,  and  became  a  lady's 
maid." 


DISCO VERED  AT  LAST!  235 

She  paused  to  softly  pat  the  hand  that  clasped 
her  own. 

"  About  that  time,  I  think,  the  very  wise  Doctor 
Dubois  suspected  the  truth  and  spoke  to  a  friend 
on  the  subject,  to  the  prejudice  of  my  mistress. 
To  save  Miss  Gower  from  the  criticism  of  imbe- 
ciles, and  also  to  deceive  Mr.  Newton,  I  so  acted 
that  every  body  imagined  I  was  poisoning  my  mis- 
tress. So  I  allowed  her  to  take  opium,  thinking, 
that  for  a  little  time  at  least,  oblivion  was  the  best 
thing  for  her.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  the 
murder,  I  visited  the  old  house,  and  if  Captain 
Travers  had  minded  his  own  business,  I  would  have 
been  in  possession  of  a  paper  that  would  have 
destroyed  the  wicked  plot  then  and  there.  I  knew 
where  this  paper  was  hidden,  and  could  have  secured 
it  even  in  the  dark,  had  not  Mr.  Draper,  who  was 
to  have  assisted  me,  whistled  a  warning,  and  had 
not  Captain  Travers  entered  the  house,  opposed 
my  egress,  and  robbed  me  of  a  shawl  which  did 
belong  to  Miss  Gower.  Once  again  I  visited  the 
house,  and  chloroformed  Detective  Sharpe,  to  take 
from  him  some  letters  that  Mr.  Newton  had  written, 
under  an  anonymous  name,  to  further  damage  Miss 
Gower's  character.  I  was  fortunate  here,  for  had  the 
detective  spoken  of  his  experience  to  Mr.  Newton, 
my  treachery  would  have  been  apparent.  Mr. 
Sharpe  was  a  man,  and  consequently  an  egoist, 
and,  as  the  result  proved,  I  wisely  trusted  to  his 
vanity  to  conceal  his  stupidity.  When  Miss 
Churchill  was  summoned,  I  endeavored  to  put  her 


236  PV//0  IS  GUILTY? 

on  the  right  path  ;  had  she  invaded  my  room  on 
her  first  appearance,  she  would  have  found  the 
same  suggestive  letters  that  she  found  after  a  long 
delay.  I  entered  the  room  where  she  was  watching 
to  supply  Miss  Gower  with  an  opium  pill,  which  I 
did  despite  the  electric  light.  I  was  anxious  to 
copy  the  doctor's  report,  to  see  if  he  were  on  the 
right  track,  and  to  emphasize  some  of  his  statements 
in  case  of  need.  But  his  science  was  wiser  than 
my  ignorance,  and  by  fooling  me  with  a  false  report, 
he  also  fooled  justice  and  himself.  Mr.  Draper's 
mysterious  disappearance  at  first  alarmed  me,  but 
I  soon  learned  from  Max  Newton  that  he  had  been 
carried  off  in  the  yacht,  and  so  I  was  compelled  to 
await  his  return." 

"  Do  you  know  anything  of  the  old  cabinet  ?  and 
the  letters  written  by  Miss  Gower  to  Mr.  Addison  ?  " 
asked  the  doctor. 

"  I  never  wrote  him  any  !  "  said  Miss  Gower, 
indignantly. 

"  She  never  wrote  him  any,"  nodded  Miss  Percy. 
"  It  was  one  of  the  many  lies  invented  to  ruin 
her  !  " 

"  But  the  cabinet  was  mutilated." 

"  Did  not  Mr.  Newton  possess  an  ax  !  And 
to  advance  his  plot  would  he  hesitate  at  spoiling 
furniture  ? " 

"  And  the  woman's  foot-prints  impressed  in  the 
mud  ?  " 

"  They  were  mine  !  "  said  Miss  Percy.  "  I  feared 
that  the  wicked  man,  with  the  desire  of  fixing  the 


DISCO  VERED  A  T  LA  ST!  237 

crime  past  doubt  on  Miss  Govver,  would  throw  about, 
here  and  there,  some  object  or  objects  belonging 
to  her.  I  went,  after  the  storm,  and  found  a  brace- 
let of  hers,  which,  of  course,  I  picked  up  and  kept. 
I  made  the  imprints,  but  I  never  thought  of  the  tell- 
tale marks  at  the  time." 

"  But  why  conceal  the  matter  at  all  ?  "  persisted 
the  doctor.     "  Why  not  inform  justice  at  once  ?  " 

"  The  flickering  candle  of  your  wisdom  is  blown 
out !  "  answered  JNIiss  Percy,  with  a  shrug  of  the 
shoulders.  "  The  crime  had  been  committed,  at 
least  in  part,  to  convict  Miss  Gower  as  a  murderess. 
Every  thing  pointed  to  her,  and  to  warn  the 
authorities  would  have  been  to  play  into  the  wretch's 
hands.  For  Miss  Gower's  sake,  whose  reputation 
was  in  the  greatest  danger,  and  for  Mr.  Draper's 
sake,  who  at  any  false  step  of  mine  was  in  danger 
of  death,  I  had  to  act  with  extreme  caution.  Calling 
on  the  law  would  have  ruined  all  ;  for,  Mr.  Draper 
away,  my  evidence  amounted  to  nothing.  I  had  to 
wait,  and  I  waited.  The  paper — which  had  been 
removed  from  its  hiding-place — came  into  my 
possession  only  within  a  comparatively  few  hours." 

"  A  little  genius  !  "  murmured  Mr.  Draper  to. 
himself. 

"  One  trifle  more,"  continued  Miss  Percy,  with 
a  smile.  "  Let  me  freely  confess,  to  my  shame,  that 
in  one  matter,  I  was  guilty.  I  had  the  ambition  of 
becoming  the  housekeeper  and  ultimately  the  wife, 
of  a  very  wise  man.  Dr.  Dubois,  in  his  nobility  of 
soul,  will  understand  me  when  I  say  that  the  ambi- 


238  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

tion  no  longer  exists,  and  that,  in  my  opinion,  a 
wise  fool  is  the  foolishest  fool  of  all  !  " 

"  We  will  enjoy  this  phase  of  the  subject  later," 
said  Mr.  Morris,  shaking  a  reproving  finger  at  the 
doctor.     "  At  present  we  are  in  need  of  more  light." 

"  I  think  I  can  help  you  to  it !  "  said  Mr.  Draper, 
with  a  brisk  nod  of  the  head.  "  I  was  honored 
with  Miss  Percy's  confidence  from  the  first  ;  but 
even  before  that,  another  lady  wrote  to  me  of  her 
troubles,  and  summoned  me  from  the  other  side  of 
the  water  to  her  aid.  Let  me  also  say  that  I  am 
not  a  rich  man.  To  assist  Miss  Gower,  I  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  my  business,  and  the  money  I  used 
comes  from  the  sale  of  some  little  property  I  was 
compelled  to  dispose  of  in  pieces  ;  and  that  at  the 
present  moment  I  am  still  waiting  for  the  money 
that  was  to  have  been  sent  me  months  ago.  I  never 
entered  a  gambling  house  in  my  life.  I  mention 
these  trifles  to  account  for  several  little  unhap- 
pinesses  in  my  Cypressville  history.  Let  me  add, 
that  I  have  crossed  and  recrossed  the  ocean  several 
times  in  this  little  business  ;  neglecting  my  affairs, 
to  return  and  set  them  right,  and  so  on  !  " 

He  nodded  gayly  to  Miss  Gower,  then  continued  : 

"  Originally,  it  was  my  belief  that  Miss  Gower 
was  being  cheated  out  of  money  that  rightly 
belonged  to  her.  In  my  endeavors  to  discover  the 
truth  of  the  report,  I  gained  some  knowledge  of  the 
inner  life  of  Mr.  Addison,  and  for  a  while  used  it  to 
some  purpose  in  restraining  his  malice.  I  visited 
him  again  and  again,  and  let  me  confess  that,  des- 


DISCO  VERED  AT  LAST!  239 

pite  his  wickedness,  I  felt  more  pity  than  anger, 
for  it  was  not  long  before  I  discovered  that  he  was 
insane,  hopelessly  insane  ! — a  helpless  automaton, 
in  the  hands  of  a  cunning  servant.  On  certain 
sides  he  was  unusually  bright,  almost  brilliant  ;  on 
others  a  wreck  !  A  madhouse  was  his  proper  place, 
and  I  once  urged  this  fact  on  his  servant,  but  I 
was  laughed  at  for  my  pains,  and  gained  the  repu- 
tation of  being  a  cunning  plotter.  My  belief  as  to 
the  money  turned  out  to  be  wrong,  and  under  the 
circumstances  nothing  was  to  be  done.  I  did  not 
know  of  the  plot  that  was  being  hatched  against 
Miss  Gower,  and  so  I  advised  patience  and  cheer- 
fulness." 

"  Did  she  not  visit  you  very  much  ? "  asked  the 
doctor,  severely. 

"  She  visited  me  and  I  visited  her  whenever  we 
felt  like  it  !  "  answered  Geoffrey  cheerfully.  *' Just 
before  the  wretched  business,  she  visited  me  at  my 
house,  and  had  a  very  interesting  conversation  on 
money  matters,  which  fact,  I  am  told,  has 
very  much  puzzled  the  brain  of  the  cunning 
Detective  Sharpe.  Thanks  to  Miss  Percy,  I  finally 
heard  something  of  the  plot,  and  also,  thanks  to 
her,  I  was  made  acquainted  with  a  secret  entrance 
into  the  old  house  ;  which  I  frequently  made  use 
of.  From  this  use  I  learned  that  Mr.  Addison's  long 
yacht  voyage  was  only  a  pretense  to  throw  his 
creditors  off  their  guard.  For  a  year  he  knew  that 
he  had  exhausted  most  of  his  resources,  and  for  a 
year  he  endeavored  to  save  himself  by  gambling 


240  WHO  IS  G UIL TY? 

and  by  speculation.  In  his  leisure  moments  he 
visited  his  house,  coming  at  night  by  boat  and 
entering  it  by  a  secret  passage  near  the  water. 
Let  me  say  it  was  a  year  of  evil  and  excesses,  and 
that  Mr.  Addison's  insanity  was  not  improved  by  it. 
By  playing  the  part  of  spy,  I  was  punished  by  wit- 
nessing a  scene  that  filled  me  with  horror,  and 
which  I  can  not  even  now  think  of  without  my  blood 
turning  into  ice.  On  a  certam  morning,  hidden  in 
the  library,  I  witnessed  what  you  call  the  '  mur- 
der ',  and  I  there  grappled  with  the  man  whom 
you  call  the  '  murderer  '  !  I  had  listened  to  a 
long  conversation  wherein  a  certain  paper  was 
mentioned,  and  the  damnation  of  Miss  Gower 
finally  completed,  and  then  I  witnessed  the  *  mur- 
der '  !  In  my  horror,  I  revealed  my  presence. 
Max  Newton  rushed  at  me  with  a  knife,  and  in 
defending  myself,  I  was  wounded  in  the  palm  of 
the  hand,  and,  as  the  doctor  shall  see  by  and  by, 
the  wound  has  not  yet  healed  !  I  was  still  under 
the  influence  of  the  horror,  and  made  discretion  the 
better  part  of  valor.  I  leaped  through  the  open 
library  window,  caught  hold  of  the  ivy  with  my 
wounded  hand,  and  reached  the  ground.  The 
blood  flowed  from  the  wound  in  a  stream,  and  I 
used  my  handkerchief  to  wipe  it  away.  Having  no 
reason  for  concealment,  I  cast  the  blood-soaked 
handkerchief  away,  and  thus  gave  rigid  science  an 
opportunity  to  draw  its  infallible  conclusions,  and 
assist  the  noble  cause  of  justice  !  Fearing  pursuit, 
and  unmanned  by  what  I  had  seen,  I  crept  into  the 


DISCO VERED  AT  LAST!  241 

bushes  and  there  became  unconscious.  When  my 
senses  returned,  the  horror  returned  with  them,  and 
a  curiosity  was  born  that  was  greater  than  the 
horror.  Indifferent  to  my  wound,  I  had  a  mania 
to  again  glance  in  the  room.  My  teeth  chattered 
and  my  limbs  trembled,  but  I  could  not  resist  the 
craving.  I  grasped  the  ivy,  drew  myself  up  to  the 
window  sill,  and  peeped  in.  I  loosened  my  grasp, 
and  fell  half  paralyzed,  as  a  pistol  shot  blazed  close 
to  my  eyes.  I  had  fallen  to  the  ground,  but  I  picked 
myself  up  and  ran  away  as  quickly  as  I  could. 
When  I  was  comparatively  calm  I  sought  Miss  Per- 
cy, and  we  discussed  the  matter.  It  was  my  wild 
opinion  that  we  should  inform  ju.stice  at  once  ;  it 
was  her  more  sensible  conclusion  that  we  should 
wait  until  we  had  Miss  Gower's  defense  in  our 
hands.  It  was  finally  decided  that  I  should  con- 
ceal myself  till  evening  in  Miss  Gower's  room,  and 
then  boldly  invade  the  house  in  the  night  in 
search  of  a  certain  paper  ;  that  is.  Miss  Percy  was 
to  enter  the  house  by  the  secret  passage,  and  I  was 
to  wait  outside  to  give  assistance  in  case  of  need. 
It  was  not  difficult  to  get  into  Miss  Gower's  room  ; 
the  doctor  and  Captain  Travers  were  away  ;  Mr, 
Morris  was  sleeping  in  his  own  room.  The  diffi- 
culty was  to  keep  Miss  Gower  quiet  ;  she  insisted 
on  accompanying  us,  and  even  put  on  her  bonnet, 
fearing  that  we  might  give  her  the  slip.  She  was 
very  nervous,  very  hysterical,  and  we  agreed  that 
she  should  go  with  us.  This  conclusion  reached 
Miss  Percy  retired." 


242  WHO  IS  GUILTY? 

The  doctor  coughed,  and  shook  his  head  ;  Cap- 
tain Travers  frowned,  and  even  Mr.  Morris  looked 
surprised. 

Geoffrey  Draper,  however,  paid  no  attention  to 
these  symptoms,  but  calmly  continued  his  narrative: 

"  At  the  time  agreed  on,  Miss  Percy  returned, 
and  before  setting  out,  we  all  took  a  glass  of  wine 
to  cheer  us.  We  had  put  opium  in  Miss  Gower's 
glass  to  free  ourselves  from  her,  and  when  she  was 
helpless,  we  set  out  and  reached  the  house  without 
trouble.  Miss  Percy  disappeared,  and  I  kept  guard 
outside.  Unfortunately,  the  enemy  was  bolder 
than  I  imagined.  In  the  gathering  gloom  I  saw 
several  suspicious-looking  objects  stealthily  ap- 
proaching me.  As  I  afterward  learned,  they  were 
some  of  the  crew  from  the  yacht ;  people  who  had 
been  bought  heart  and  soul  by  their  master.  I 
gave  the  warning  whistle  agreed  on,  and  then 
attempted  to  escape  ;  but  it  was  too  late  !  On  all 
sides  they  rushed  toward  me.  I  fired  my  pistol  at 
them,  threw  it  away,  and  took  to  my  heels.  It  was 
foggy,  and  I  nearly  fell  into  the  well.  I  escaped 
this  only  to  rush  into  the  arms  of  the  enemy.  I 
was  knocked  down,  in  silence  on  their  part,  gagged, 
tied,  and  carried  to  the  yacht,  where  I  remained  a 
prisoner  until  Miss  Percy  rescued  me  !  " 

"  To  ?ny  way  of  thinking,"  said  Mr.  Morris,  "  it 
was  a  foolish  expedition.  It  was  not  likely  you 
would  find  the  paper  you  were  looking  for.  The 
murderer  would  have  removed  it  from  its  hiding 
place  !  " 


DISCO VERED  AT  LAST !  243 

"  You  are  wrong,"  answered  Mr.  Draper,  "  and  it 
was  surely  there  on  the  evening  when  we  looked  for 
it  ;  for,  immediately  after  the  shot,  it  was  necessary 
for  Max  Newton  to  leap  on  the  yacht  that  touched  at 
his  place,  and  pretend  that  he  had  come  up  in  it 
from  the  city." 

"I  had  just  found  the  door  of  the  trap,"  said 
Miss  Percy,  "  when  I  saw  a  ray  of  moonlight  fall- 
ing on  a  figure  in  the  doorway.  I  thought  it  was 
Max  Netwon,  and,  losing  my  wits,  rushed  into  Cap- 
tain Travers's  arms." 

"Had /been  in  your  place,"  said  the  doctor, 
severely.     "  I  should  have  fired  at  the  murderer." 

"  But  there  was  no  murder  !  "  said  Mr.  Draper 
quietly. 

These  words  caused  the  greatest  excitement. 

''  Come,  come,  this  is  carrying  it  too  far,"  said 
the  doctor,  frowning.  "  Perhaps,"  he  said,  with  fine 
scorn,  "  the  dead  man  is  alive  L " 

"  I  have  not  said  so,  doctor.  He  had  squan- 
dered a  fortune,  he  was  deeply  in  debt,  he  was  in- 
sane, and  he  hated  the  one  woman  who  had  resisted 
him  !  With  diabolical  malice,  he  saved  himself  from 
exposure  and  revenged  himself  at  the  same  time 
by  taking  poison,  and  with  his  own  lips  directing 
that  a  certain  time  after  death — he  had  a  horror  of 
blood  ! — he  should  be  shot  in  the  head  with  a  pistol 
he  had  formerly  given  to  Miss  Gower,  but  which 
was  still  in  his  possession  !  " 

"  And  which  I  delivered  to  Dr.  Dubois,"  inter- 
rupted  Miss  Percy.     "  My    fidelity    was   strongly 


244  ^1^0  IS  GUILTY? 

suspected  at  the  time  by  Max  Newton,  and  it  was 
he  who  gave  me  the  pistol  and  the  order  to  sur- 
render it.  I  obeyed,  knowing  that  the  doctor  would 
speak  of  it  to  his  good  friend  Mr.  Salors,  otherwise 
Detective  Sharpe,  and  that  the  wise  detective  would 
speak  of  it  to  Max  Newton,  and  in  this  way  save 
the  bad  man's  suspicion  from  deepening  against 
me  ! " 

"  I  heard  all  the  details  of  the  intended  suicide 
discussed  by  master  and  man  as  if  it  were  the  most 
ordinary  affair  in  life.  I  heard  the  insane  man 
give  his  orders  as  calmly  as  if  he  were  only  going 
on  a  short  journey  ;  and  I  saw  the  madman's  pas- 
sion in  his  eyes  as  he  spoke  of  the  evils  that  he  was 
bringing  on  an  innocent  woman  !  " 

The  doctor  indulged  in  a  significant  cough  ;  but 
observing  Miss  Percy's  contemptuous  smile,  he 
cunningly  pretended  that  he  was  struggling  with  a 
temporary  obstruction  in  his  throat. 

Mr.  Draper  continued  : 

"  I  saw  the  madman  drink  the  poison  as  if  it  were 
the  most  luxurious  wine  ;  and  when,  after  my  senses 
returned,  and  I  peeped  in  the  window,  I  saw  Max 
Newton  fire  the  pistol  bullet  into  the  dead  man's 
head,  holding  the  head  on  his  knee,  having  pre- 
viously poured  blood  on  the  floor,  in  obedience  to 
his  master's  orders  that  none  of  his  own  blood 
should  be  spilled  !  " 

"  If  this  is  not  enough,"  said  Miss  Percy,  "  I  have 
the  honor  of  presenting  for  the  doctor's  considera- 
tion a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Addison  just  before  his 


DISCO VERED  AT  LAST !  245 

death,  and  which  was  to  have  been  delivered  only- 
after  his  victim's  character  was  hopelessly  ruined. 
He  wished  her  to  live  and  suffer,  and  it  was  to  have 
reached  her  after  she  had  been  tried  and  condemned 
to  the  gallows.     Will  you  read  it,  Mr.  Draper  ? " 

With  the  words  she  held  out  the  paper  that  she 
had  taken  from  the  drugged  Max  Newton. 

Mr.  Draper  tore  open  the  sealed  envelope,  ex- 
tracted a  paper,  and  read  : 

"  My  sweetest  love,  Oriana  : 

"  I  am  tired  of  the  world  and  intend  to  leave  it  ; 
but  I  am  still  determined  you  shall  not  forget  me. 
I  am  going  to  kill  myself,  and  allow  the  world  to 
believe  you  are  my  murderer.  But  you  must  not 
hang  ;  you  must  live  and  think  of  me  !  So,  m.y  love, 
I  write  this  letter,  which  you  will  receive  when  the 
hangman's  fingers  are  on  your  throat.  It  will  save 
your  life,  and  give  you  an  opportunity  to  gauge  my 
love  by  my  hate  !  You  are  penniless,  blasted  in 
name,  a  jail-bird  !  I  now  free  you.  Cleanse  the 
foulness  I  have  thrown  on  you,  if  you  can  !  I  hate 
the  world  and  I  hate  you,  my  love  !  Tell  the  hang- 
man I  die  by  my  own  hand,  by  poison.  Farewell, 
my  sweet,  and  remember,  in  your  degradation, 

"  Hugo  Addison." 
"September  13,  18 — ." 

"  The  scoundrel !  "  hissed  Captain  Travers.  Then 
he  said,  somewhat  nervously,  "  I  would  like  to  ask 
who  you  are,  Mr.  Draper  ?    You  see — that  is — " 


246  IV//0  IS  GUILTY? 

"Yes,  who  are  you?"  repeated  the  doctor,  irrita- 
bly. 

"  I  am  Oriana's  brother,  Geoffrey  Draper  Gower!  " 

"  Ah,  Dubois,"  said  Mr.  Morris,  enjoying  his 
friend's  discomfiture,  "  it's  a  shame  you  can't  share 
the  laurels  with  the  sleuth-hound  Sharpe  !  Long 
live  science  ! " 

"  I  wish  Miss  Churchill  were  here  to  enjoy  these 
developments,"  said  Miss  Percy,  with  a  sigh. 

"  I  received  a  telegram  from  her  this  morning," 
answered  the  humbled  doctor.  "  Allow  me  to  read 
it,  that  she  may  receive  a  portion  of  the  attention 
now  showered  on  me." 

The  doctor  took  a  paper  from  his  pocket  and, 
with  quiet  malice,  read  as  follows  : 

"  Dr.  Dubois  :  I  have  left  the  city  ;  but  be  easy. 
The  mystery  will  be  solved  soon.  /  am  on  the 
track  of  the  yacht  Oriana  !  " 

When  Captain  Travers  departed  for  Europe  he 
was  accompanied  by  the  wife  whom  he  had  recently 
married — a  charming  young  lady,  who  has  forsworn 
the  use  of  laudanum  even  in  sickness,  and  who 
bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  Miss  Gower. 

Miss  Percy  traveled  in  the  same  vessel,  and  a 
certain  "  Geoffrey  Draper  "  is  very  fond  of  sitting 
beside  her  and  admiring  the  stars.  Perhaps  one 
day  she  may  forget  her  objections  to  marriage,  and 
become  a  very  excellent  and  loving  wife. 

From  a  newspaper  of  a  later  date  we  extract  the 
following  item ; 


DISCO VERED  AT  LAST !  247 

"  In  a  recent  storm  a  great  many  vessels  were 
wrecked,  and  among  them  a  once-famous  yacht 
called  the  Oriana.  A  returned  vessel  reports  hav- 
ing seen  the  ill-starred  yacht  founder  in  mid-ocean, 
carrying  down  with  it,  in  one  fell  swoop,  all  its  occu- 
pants. On  account  of  the  high  seas,  assistance  was 
impossible,  and  so  both  vessel  and  crew  were  swal- 
lowed up  by  the  devastating  elements.  On  the  fol- 
lowing morning  a  man  was  seen,  clutching  a  spar. 
He  was  rescued,  but  died  soon  after.  The  body 
was  recognized  as  that  of  Max  Newton,  who  was 
connected  with  a  tragedy  which  is  already  a  med- 
ico-legal classic,  and  which  future  moralists  will 
extensively  use  to  point  a  moral  and  adorn  a  tale  !  " 


THfi    END. 


"One  of  the  most  Powerful  Novels  of  the  Year." 

— Si.  Louis  Repuhlican. 


AS  IT  WAS  WRITTEN. 

A  Jewish  Musician's  Story. 

By  Sidney   Luska. 


I  Volume  i6mo.  Extra  Cloth.     Price, 


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George  Carv  Eggleston. 

"  Its  intensity,  picturesqueness  and  exciting  narration  are  in 
sharp  contrast  with  the  works  of  our  analytic  novelists." — E.  C.  Sted- 

MAN. 

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Written  seems  the  most  likely  to  take  a  permanent  place  in 
literature.  We  hope  to  hear  from  Sidney  Luska  again."— Ka/* 
Courant. 

"  We  have  seen  no  book  of  late  years  to  which  the  term  absorbing 
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THE    NEW    AMERICAN    NOVEL, 

TRAJAN. 

The   History  of  a  Sentimental    Young   Man,  with 

some  Episodes  in  the  Comedy  of  Many 

Lives'    Errors. 

BY  HENRY  F.  KEENAN. 


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The  story  is  of  international  interest.  The  scene  is  laid 
in  Paris  during  the  exciting  days  that  ushered  in  the  Com- 
mune, and  while  many  real  persons  figure  among  the 
characters,  the  plot  hovers  round  a  group  of  Americans, 
thrown  together  by  the  vicissitudes  of  the  hour. 


Among  the  new  novels  of  the  season,  Mr.  Henry  F.  Keenan's 
*'  Trajan  "  must  be  promptly  accorded  the  first  place. — New  York 
Herald. 

It  is  much  the  best  novel  that  has  appeared  for  years  in  the  En- 
glish or  any  other  language. — Phila.  Evening  Bulletin. 

"  Trajan  "  is  a  classic,  a  real  gem  plucked  from  the  mass  of  rubbish 
with  which  the  bookstores  are  crowded. — Boston  Times. 

Every  careful  bibliographer  of  the  20th  century  ought  to  mention 
"  Trajan  "  as  a  novel  to  be  read  for  scenes  of  the  19th  century  in  Paris 
and  New  \ oxV.—Hart/ord  Post. 


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The  scene  of  the  story  is  laid  in  the  mountains  of  Ala- 
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picturesque. 

The  story  is  a  very  strong  one,  with  picturesque  sketching,  effective 
dramatic  situations,  and  most  admirable  character  drawing. — Boston 
Home  Journal. 

Crisp  and  fresh  in  style,  and  the  story  is  told  with  animation. — 
Brooklyn  Daily  Times. 

The  attractive  setting,  the  general  color,  and  the  excellence  of  parts 
of  the  action  make  the  novel  a  very  strong  one. — Boston  Globe. 

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dialect.  .  .  .  The  style  is  charming,  and  this  new  work  of  fiction 
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A  delightful  story,  elegantly  designed,  and  told  in  the  most  interest- 
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The  author  has  blended  the  beautiful  and  romantic  in  graceful 
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It  is  not  saying  too  much  to  declare  that  "The  Bar-Sinister" 
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unusually  unproductive  season. — Christian  Union. 

"  The  Bar-Sinister"  is  a  novel  which  will  attract  more  than  ordi- 
nary attention.  The  text  is  Mormonism,  the  bar-sinister  on  the 
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enticements  of  the  "saints." — Christian  at  Work. 

A  well-constructed  story,  that  is  developed  by  a  plot  to  a  strong 
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the  power  to  inflame  public  opinion  as  no  other  with  its  purpose  has 
ever  done. — Boston  Globe. 

One  of  the  most  powerfully  written  books  of  the  season. — Lawrence 
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It  is  the  best  novel  of  the  summer. — Examiner,  N.  Y. 


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A  thoroughly  delicious  book  .  .  .  the  interest  in  the  story  is 
unflagging,  and  is  absorbing  enough  to  hold  the  reader's  attention  to 
the  last  page. — Boston  Courier. 


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General  Gordon.  _  -  By  the  Rev.  S.  H.  Swaine. 

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